DIY Brick on Sand Paving

Excavate a trench or hole for the walkway or patio. Dig down 18 inches and remove all roots with a mattock. Make the trench or hole -- called the footer -- at least a foot wider than the walkway or patio. Square the sides, and roughly level the bottom.

Fill the excavation with 1 foot decomposed granite, sometimes called granite screed. Roughly level the screed. Drive stakes into the ground along both sides of the footer every 2 feet. Tie string between the opposing stakes at the level you want your finished surface. Check the strings with the string level to ensure that they are perfectly level.

Add sand to the cavity on top of the screed, one section at a time. Level the section of sand, and lay your pavers on the sand in the pattern you want. Place the pavers so they reach exactly the level of your strings, and check each with the short level. Adjust the sand to ensure the correct height and level. Check the surface of the section with the long level to ensure that the entire surface is level. Make fine adjustments by tapping the pavers with the rubber mallet. Add more sand and repeat section by section, until the entire surface is filled with pavers.

Secure the edges of the surface with lines of brick pavers that are below the surface level, to be buried. Backfill the edges with granite screed. Cover the backfill with soil or sod. Pour an inch of sand across the entire surface of the patio or walkway. Sweep the sand back and forth repeatedly over the surface until sand fills the joints between the pavers and the pavers do not rock or budge. Sweep the surface clean.