What Are the Different Uses for Brick Paving?

Landscaping a yard does not always necessarily mean planting gardens, grass, and flowers. It may instead mean creating patio spaces, driveways, walkways, or other leisure spaces. One way to create such spaces involve the use of brick paving; unlike structural bricks, pavers may be made from clay or concrete that is tinted to look like brick. Concrete tends to be more suitable for application on the ground, and brick paving is very often used for such purposes. In addition to these applications, pavers can be used to create non-structural walls, decorative linings, or other decorative features in a yard or outdoor space.

Brick paving is very often used to create driveways. Unlike poured concrete, the pavers will allow for easy expansion and contraction during changing weather conditions, which means damage to the pavers themselves is less likely than damage to a concrete slab. The pavers also tend to be much more attractive than concrete, thereby potentially raising the value of a home. The pavers can be arranged in different patterns to create various aesthetics, thereby adding decorative flair to the space. Installing brick paving can be time-consuming and difficult, however, though pouring a concrete slab is not necessarily an easier job.

Walkways are perhaps the second most common uses for brick paving. As an alternative to true bricks, which must be secured together using grout, brick pavers are laid on a compacted bed of soil and gravel, and then covered with sand. The sand is forced into the crevices between each brick to secure each paver in place, eliminating the need for grout and further allowing for expansion and contraction as necessary. Installing brick paving is therefore much easier and less time-consuming than installing true clay brick, which often requires the hiring of a professional. True clay brick will also be more susceptible to cracking or splitting due to contraction and expansion.

It is also possible to build non-structural walls or decorative linings in a yard using brick paving. Some types of garden walls can be made from pavers, assuming the elevated bed is not too large; the pavers generally aren't meant for use as structural elements, and since they are not secured together with grout like true brick, they will be susceptible to dislodging. The pavers can be used to create a lining or border along gardens since such borders generally do not bear any weight.