Stake and cord outside edges of path.Excavate a to required depth. Level and smooth bed carefully then wet it down. Let settle for 24 hrs.

Set edging bricks first, "close together. Tamp down firmly. Lay bricks in pattern allowing 1/2" spaces between each. Fill seams with sand. Sprinkle.

A fairly accurate estimate of the number of bricks needed can be worked out on paper before buying. Having decided upon the pattern (see sketch on page 28) for laying, and knowing the dimensions of each brick, the number required for two running feet of path is easily figured. Roughly draw a number of rectangles, placed as per the pattern used. For example; the basket weave pattern, using two bricks across and two bricks up and down, would take thirty bricks to make a path about 40" wide and 2' long. Now multiply the length of the path by fifteen (half the number required for 2') and the total number of bricks results. Always buy, or get, about 10% more than you estimate to replace those broken or cracked bricks that are an inevitable part of any load.

Determine the width of the walk. Before setting the stakes and cord guide for the opposite side, lay a row of bricks across. Allow one-quarter inch space between each brick. This allows you to make any necessary adjustment between the desired width of the walk in inches and the actual space required by the bricks to fill that width. The actual bricks have a way of taking a little more or a little less space than your paper calculations call for. Make any necessary adjustments now. Set the stake in position then, and, keeping the rest absolutely parallel with the first guide line, set remaining stakes and cord them.

The earth is dug out between the guide lines to make the bed for the bricks. The depth of the digging depends upon the type of bed. Bricks to be laid directly on the earth need a bed only 2" deep. Dig so that the sides are clean and sharp and the bottom as flat as you can make it.

After the bed has been dug, rake the bottom with a steel-toothed rake. Take out all pebbles, regardless of size. With the back of the rake, level off the loose dirt. A six-inch-wide board of some length may be laid on the bottom and walked over several times. This should be done over the entire bed so that the earth is actually pressed down. Now, using the finest spray, wet down the bed with the garden hose. After the water has seeped into the earth, you will notice depressions and bumps. Flatten them all out for they are hazard points.

If bricks are laid on an absolutely flat bed so that the top of each brick is exactly even with its neighbor, there will be little or no trouble in the future. Slight bumps or hollows cause a brick to wobble when it is walked on. Becoming uneven, the top edge or corners get kicked and scuffed off. Because there are hollows beneath them, water will lie there undermining not only that brick but other bricks adjacent to it. So, for lasting results and permanent beauty, make a perfect bed.

The actual laying of the bricks is real fun. The bricks are placed carefully, about one-quarter inch apart, tapped down lightly, then tested for rocking or wobbliness. This is done by pressing the hand down on the face of the brick, then slightly shaking the hand. If the brick "gives" or moves at any point the ground beneath must be levelled off.

After all the bricks are in position, dry sand or dirt is used to fill the spaces between. Dump the dirt or sand at intervals along the path and then, with a rake or broom, push it across the surface of the path, allowing it to trickle between the bricks. Sweep off the excess dirt, then wet the path thoroughly with a hose. When bricks have dried, additional filling will undoubtedly be needed between them. Follow the same method.

This is the simplest, fastest and cheapest way of laying a brick walk. A more elaborate one, in so far as construction is concerned, involves the introduction of a drainage bed beneath the bricks. It is more expensive, for gravel or cinders as well as sand are needed, plus the bricks themselves. The approved method of making this type of brick path is to excavate the bed to a depth of twelve inches. The lower part of the bed is filled with cinders or gravel to a depth of six inches. Sharp sand, upon which the bricks are laid, is shovelled on top of the cinders. The sand bed should be about four inches deep and it, too, must be raked and pressed flat and even. If, however, the bricks are to be laid in mortar, the sand bed is but two inches deep with a two inch mortar bed poured in on top of it. Use one part cement to three parts sand for the mortar bed.

When laid in mortar, the path is worked in sections of about four foot lengths. The two inch mortar bed is poured and troweled out evenly. Each brick must be buttered as it is laid! That means spreading a layer of cement along the sides of the brick that join the preceding row and the adjoining brick. When buttered, the brick is laid on the mortar bed about a half inch away from its left neighbor, then shoved over to it until the seam between is a quarter inch wide. This squeezes cement out of the seam. Cut it off, with the edge of the trowel, before preparing the next brick. That is all there is to it: