How to Inlay Brick Into Concrete

Design

• 1

  Measure precisely and write down dimensions of the area to be paved. Use a garden hose to mark off the perimeter and perfect the shape. Use spray paint to mark the perimeter when the garden hose is removed to provide an excavation map.

• 2

  Transfer your design to graph paper or input information into a landscape design software program.

• 3

  Order building materials according to specifications of your site design. A software program will provide you with a list of materials needed after you finalize your design. Otherwise, work with your building materials supplier to determine the required amounts of product for your project.

Forming Up

• 4

  Remove all sod and other material to a depth of 8 inches. Rake the surface smooth. Place gravel in the excavated site to a depth of 4 inches. Level it with your garden rake.

• 5

  Add an inch to the measurement of the length of one brick and use this number as your guide for placing stakes. Measure from the outer edge of the excavation toward the inside. Pound a stake into the ground. Keeping the same distance from the outer perimeter, place stakes every 4 feet or as needed to construct a curve. Top of stakes must be no more than 3.5 inches out of the ground.

• 6

  Screw 1-by-4 boards to the stakes, making certain the tops of the boards are level across the expanse and from corner to corner. If your level is not long enough, select the straightest board you have and lay it across the form boards. Put the level on the long board and check for evenness.

Install Inlays

• 7

  Wet the excavated area, including form boards. Pour concrete inside the formed-up area to the tops of the boards. Pour approximately 1 to 1.5 inches of concrete outside the forms to the excavated perimeter. Using a screed board, smooth the concrete. Using a trowel, smooth the concrete outside the forms. Remove the forms when the concrete is set but not hard.

• 8

  Prepare the mortar mix. Lay down the mortar so that the top of an inlay brick set in the mortar is level with the top of the concrete.

• 9

  Mortar clay brick inlays into place by placing 1 inch of mortar grout on the end of the brick that touches the concrete and half an inch of mortar grout on the side of the brick. Continue laying bricks in this fashion until the brick inlay design is complete. Use the tip of the trowel to remove excess mortar grout between bricks and in the joint between concrete and brick inlays.