How to repair (or should I replace?) brick sidewalks?

Jean Cartier
by Jean Cartier

How to repair (or should I replace?) brick sidewalks that have shiftedenough to present a serious tripping/fall problem?? Can I just”reset” bricks in sand/quikcrete mixture or should I use another walkway.I love the bricks but would hate to see someone hurt!??

  6 answers
  • Ken Erickson Ken Erickson on Jan 21, 2019

    You could try to re-seat the offending bricks or you remove them all, redo the base, and then relay the bricks. There is a polymeric sand that can be worked into the cracks, watered down, and let sit. It will harden and lock bricks in place.

  • Seth Seth on Jan 21, 2019

    Jean,

    The bricks can be reset. If they are not mortared in place, then they were set into sand or stone dust. The joints between the bricks might be filled with sand, stone dust or polymeric sand, which hardens when wetted with water. The process is fairly simple, but time consuming because you have to level the reset bricks as you work. If you are talking about a large length of walkway that has shifted, the ground may have eroded to the point where the entire walkway needs significant work to be stabilized so it will support the walkway. Have a landscaper who specializes in hardscape work evaluate it for you.

  • William William on Jan 21, 2019

    You can reset the bricks in sand . No Quickcrete or cement.

    • Jean Cartier Jean Cartier on Jan 21, 2019

      You don’t recommend the polymer sand that Ken did? We have

      had so much rain in Texas this year, I would think JUST sand

      would simply wash out?!

      Appreciate ALL the helpful advice! If & when this Sr. Great-grandmother accomplishes the task, I will try to post a picture!

  • Seth Seth on Jan 21, 2019

    Polymeric sand goes in between the bricks after reseting them not as a base. Use mason sand or concrete sand as the base. Do not use the big box store's paver base, use their base sand.

  • William William on Jan 21, 2019

    Reset the bricks in regular sand. The polymeric sand is swept in between the bricks after they are in place. Mist with a hose and add more if needed. It hardens like concrete and prevents water from going in between the bricks.