# Brick Patio - leveling



## Patcho (Apr 11, 2007)

Hey all,

I just bought a house that I'll be upgrading before I move the family in. The major contruction (new kitchen) will be handled by my contractor but I plan on laying a brick patio off the side of the house and doing some landscaping. I plan on laying bricks on a dry bed of crushed stone + sand after I figure out how to level the area.

I'm having a sliding door installed to lead out to the area. I attached a pic with a crude paint over of where the door will be. That tree against the house will go plus the hedges will be squared off.

As far as covering that basement window I have two other plus a bulkhead so I'm only worried about how to fill in the space.

Any suggestions on the leveling?!? What about steps to the door?thanks.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/levesqueb/house14.jpg


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## Basic_Homeowner (Apr 24, 2007)

*remove topsoil before adding crushed stone*

Before putting down the stone and sand, the top soil must be removed down to the subsurface. If not removed, your crushed stones will just sink into the soft top soil. If you need to add to the area to make it more flat and level, use non-organic material. You actually DO NOT want it level, you want it pitched away from the foundation for proper drainage. 1/4 to 1/2 inch per foot. To determine level, I would suggest using lines of string on stakes with line-levels. This will give you general idea of your high and low spots. some criss-cross of lines across the middle is needed too. To get the slope, do the math for your specific size. It is a lot of work, but necessary if you want your brick-work to last many years. Good Luck!


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