old concrete patio very cracked will cost tons to remove(electric lines and sewer lines under?

Question

can I use sand to level it and then lay brick down? I was hoping to extend it out and putin a fire pit if this would work what do you think?

Answer 1

We laid a flat rock sidewalk a few years ago. Not much expense to it unless you factor in the trips to the Chiropractor my husband and I both had to make, lol. Be careful when lifting and moving the slate or rock whichever you decide on. We used a sand based grout. The hardest part for us was laying out the design we wanted. We went with a V shaped pattern in that we had a sidewalk leading right to our detached garage and straight to our driveway, if that makes any sense. Once we mastered that the rest was a breeze. Lay plenty of gravel and sand over earth to stablize rock to keep it from sinking.
Good luck!

Answer 2

If the concrete pieces are not shifting, you should be able to do it. You will have to put some kind of edging all around it to keep the bricks or paving stones on the edges from shifting. You should at least research paving stones, which are larger than bricks and often contain interlocking edges for more stability. Laying a large area of brick to a level standard is a lot of work (based on tearing out a section of front sidewalk and putting in bricks found under soil in back yard.)

Answer 3

Should work, just be careful if the area you extend to is on soft earth. It may subside under the weight of the sand/bricks and then it wouldn't be level. You might need to put down some more concrete or dig down to sub-soil or rock and put in deeper sand.

Answer 4

My advise is to do the ground work and redo the concrete because if you cover the patio with another type of decor then in time you will wish you had fix the main problem.

Here in Iowa the brick patios are nice and work well but they need a good solid foundation to look good.

Answer 5

I had the same problem as you do. My Fiance just Built a Large Wooden Deck over the Cement Slab. It looks Lovely and we are really enjoying it. You can probably Level it off with Dirt and then lay your brick, and Build your fire Pit..Good Luck

Answer 6

We recently just covered our sidewalk with slate. There was nothing special that we had to do, just put down the mud, placed the slate and then waited a couple of days and then laid in the grout. The only thing that had to be changed was the gate to the outside, it had to be raised about 1/2 inch to accommodate the slightly higher concrete.

Answer 7

I'm not sure about the sand because I think if it rains, it'll be washed out since the cement will be under it. However, there are several products you can use on existing concrete to repair/refinish. Check out this site for some ideas: http://www.riverocksurfacing.com - and there are other products for DIY that do similar jobs.

Answer 8

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