brick patio

[andyw]

hello there

Ive kangoed and removed the concrete base of an old garage in my back garden, the concrete has been laid on a layer of bricks. it looks as if it may have been the floor to an old outhouse.

I was thinking of lifting the bricks and resetting some of them to make a patio. I have read of the dangers of frost and resultant cracking etc. but it seems such a waste not to use the bricks.

what do you think

[84-1093879891]

I'd be reluctant to use the salvaged bricks as pavers unless I was sure they were of the right quality and frost resistance. It may be (and I can't say for certain without seeing them) that they are 'facings' or 'commons' and totally unsuited to use as a pavement surface, or, if they really were an old floor, they may be fine.

However, are you sure you will have sufficient to pave the area uunder consideration, and won't run out half-way through, requiring you to find a near match or, even worse, to start again? Have you checked the number that are of serviceable quality? Have you read the page on rigid brick pavements and fully understood the amount of work involved? It's hell of a lot trickier than laying flexible block paving!

Although you can save a few quid in the cost of pavings be re-utilising these bricks, this can soon be lost in the additional costs of mortar, concrete and, most importantly, time, as rigid paving is much slower work than flexible blockwork or flagging.

[andyw]

plenty of bricks, they are actually laid as a floor under the old garage concrete floor , no hard core just laid onto soil

I will get someone to look at them and put together the total costs of old bricks v new pavers.

thanks