How to Install Brick Edging
Brick edging in North Liberty, Iowa helps to protect your lawn and garden and keeps both strong for years to come. Trying to install these items in your yard is often a difficult task if you have never done it before. Some individuals may lack the talent and understanding unless they follow the steps outlined below. These steps ensure that you can lay your bricks with ease and with proper style.
So if you are interested in installing high-quality bricks for your edging needs, please follow this simple process to learn more. Our experts have installed blocks in this way for years and can help you fully understand the process. Just as importantly, we can also come to your home and provide installation help if you want to make sure that your brick edging is installed correctly and safely.
Creating the Bed
Brick edging starts long before you ever lay brick and requires you to prepare when you are going to lay the bricks properly. Typically, you want to make a simple border that doesn’t require you to cut any blocks. Cutting bricks is not advised, when avoidable, because the blocks are likely to be more prone to crumble. Even worse, they may also fall apart or be hard to fit together in many ways.
Typically, you want to start at a fixed point that makes sense to use as a measuring tool. For example, if you have a fence or a garage that you can use as an edge for the edging, you can use it to keep yourself straight. Make sure that this edge is straight before you start, though, to ensure that you don’t get off course. Typically, all you need to do is lay a level on the wall or line to check its straightness.
Importantly, you want to start making small trenches as you begin laying the bed. This step typically requires that you cut the channel straight up and down along the sides of the bed and to tamp the bottom down as you go along the path. At this point, you should stretch the mason’s line along the first edge of your bed, as this line will become a critical guiding point to the rest of the process.
Pay Attention to Brick Alignment
After you have stretched the mason’s line along the edge of the bed and pulled it taut, you need to adjust its height to that of the bricks you want to lay. Place a block on the ground near the line and pull the line down to this level. At this point, you have a good idea of the line along which you are installing your brick edging materials and can start putting bricks in the trenches to start the job.
Typically, you want to start your edging along a fixed point, such as a corner of the bed, and work from there. As you go, keep the tops of the bricks aligned with the mason’s line. Also, keep the edges closest to the line to this alignment. If necessary, you need to adjust the depth of the trench to ensure that the bricks stick to the height of the line and that your edging is installed correctly.
The easiest way to improve this situation is to add or remove soil as necessary to keep the bricks level. You’re not going to have to take that much land to assuage this progress. Importantly, you need to tamp down the surface where you add or remove dirt to keep it as aligned as possible. This trick is one that many forget when trying to follow this installation process and can be a significant issue.
Keep the Bricks in Place
As you add bricks, finish a whole line before you decide to seat them. This process requires you to lightly tap the blocks with a rubber mallet on the top to push them into the ground. They shouldn’t sink into the ground, but should settle a little. This light tap should help your brick edging sit more comfortably where you install it and will also ensure that you can adjust their height and alignment as needed.
Once the bricks are comfortably in place, you can add a little soil along the edges to keep them even more in place. This simple backfill method requires you to put dirt up to near the top of the bricks but not to cover them. In essence, you are creating edging that keeps your garden separated from your yard but doesn’t interfere with your walking. As a result, you only need to bury them slightly.
If necessary, pull the bricks out and adjust their height to ensure that the trench remains level. This process is relatively simple if you think of it in terms of laying a floor. You essentially want the bricks to be level with each other and to have the same alignment to ensure that they don’t let in any roots or moisture. Just as importantly, this closeness also makes sure that they are stronger than if they weren’t set.
As you work, you’re going to want to place the last brick in the trench so that it fits as snugly as possible. You may need to lengthen or shorten the channel as necessary to get the brick in place. At this point, you can add the final soil to the last block and move on to the next trench, if necessary.
Trust Our Professionals
So if you’re interested in the best brick edging North Liberty, Iowa has to offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Fix Fabrication & Landscaping to learn more. Our experts will visit your home and inspect your garden to help you fully understand this process and its benefits for your home.
