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Laying a few edging bricks
InBloom
Posts: 68
We have some bricks, just set into the soil to edge a flower bed but they've become uneven and dont look great.
I was thinking of setting them into mortar / concrete to make them look neater and more level and stop them moving around again in the future. Can someone point me how? I've not done this before.
I've got a bag of concrete and a bag of kiln-dried sand left over from something else. Don't want to buy anything else for it so I'm hoping this will do ok. Can I mix the concrete and sand to use? And what ratio? Read various things online.
It won't be holding any weight and doesn't have to be perfect just neater and level. But it'll all be below ground level.
Take all the bricks out then put a blob under each one before knocking down? Or take the bricks out and fill the trench with it? Before putting them all back in? There's about 3 dozen stood up on end.
I was thinking of setting them into mortar / concrete to make them look neater and more level and stop them moving around again in the future. Can someone point me how? I've not done this before.
I've got a bag of concrete and a bag of kiln-dried sand left over from something else. Don't want to buy anything else for it so I'm hoping this will do ok. Can I mix the concrete and sand to use? And what ratio? Read various things online.
It won't be holding any weight and doesn't have to be perfect just neater and level. But it'll all be below ground level.
Take all the bricks out then put a blob under each one before knocking down? Or take the bricks out and fill the trench with it? Before putting them all back in? There's about 3 dozen stood up on end.
0
Posts
I usually use a 3 [sand] to 1 [cement] mix for doing mortar. That's much stronger in wetter areas for setting brick or block. 4 to 1 is often fine though.
The best method is to make sure the base of the trench you're putting the edge in is as level and firm as possible before you start. Don't skimp on the amount you put down for each brick, and have a string line in place to help with your final level if you don't feel confident about it.
It can also be useful to put a little sloping edge of mortar along the back of the bricks - where they meet your border, just to prevent any movement.
You can then fill in the joints later with a dry mix brushed in, or a wet one depending on how skilful you feel. You don't need to do it all at once. If you're doing a dry mix, a piece of timber along the front and back helps to avoid it disappearing elsewhere.
Don't do any of it if there's going to be serious frosts, or heaving persistent rain, in the forecast. It saves having to cover it. I had to re do a step last week which was loose and I put some polythene over it until the following day. Easy enough when it's just one paving slab though.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Got some nice new plants on order to go in the bed, Verbena hastata to give some height at the back and Sanguisorba not grown before but looks interesting. Lost about half of the plants in this bed over the winter - clay soil at the bottom of a slope. So the wet / cold combination finished things off.
Pleased to see the Allium sphaerocephalon, thought was done for last year has come back really strong though. Lavender survived it, as did Heuchera and most of the Gaura. Penstemon taken a knock but hanging on.
Other areas of my garden, I prefer treated timber to use as edging as quicker to fit, can be painted and look lovely.