Brick patio around pool - Brick on sand with no base?

[jeffnyrr]

Just joined and thank you for this resource as I am getting conflicting advice.
I had to tear out my red brick patio around my pool because I had to replace pool liner and when coping and wood plate underlay were removed, the patio section was higher than new coping. The red brick had cement on the bottoms so most of the bricks were trashed.
Do I need to excavate and install RCA or cement base, or can I just have new brick installed on the sand that is there (after proper pitching of the sand)? I live in Northeast, so there is freezing in winter. I wouldn't mind if there is a little settling and unevenness of bricks, and of course the cost to excavate and install a cement or RCA base would be substantial.
Thanks for your advice.

[Pablo]

Is there any kind of stone sub base under the existing sand?

[jeffnyrr]

no. just dirt.

[Pablo]

Laying block on sand over a soil base is going to quickly fail. The original paving was bedded on screed which prevented it from sinking so you're either going to have to replicate that (to the new level) or install a 4" compacted stone base and build it in the traditional way.

[Pablo]

Most of the contractors on here are from The UK and Ireland so we're not always familiar with how things are done over the pond.