Brick walkway repair advice

acommondisaster

Active Member
My husband is going to kill me, but I'm sick of waiting for him to fix our brick walkway, so tomorrow, I'm going to do it myself. The powder stuff has been sitting in the garage for a year now; I checked and it's still powder (rather than a bag of solid cement). I've got a pail and the bricks that I need to recement.

It's just the 3 edge bricks on a step down to the driveway. They're the edge of a step with big grout lines. Any sage advice before I start? Do I just put a bunch of cement down and plop the brick in and then fill in between the bricks with more cement?

Also, elsewhere in the walkway, there are a few spots where the grout between all of the bricks are gone. Can I just use something akin to a pastry pipe to get grout in between the bricks? Any advice will be welcomed.

I'm more of a cook than a fixer, but I think I've got this one.
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
Go for it. :killingme

Seriously there are tons of DIY sites that should be able to help you, if not here is hoping you have a nice funeral. :buddies:
 

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
Follow the directions on the bags for mixing it. Do only one bag (or even half a bag) at a time so it doesn't dry out before you get to it.

You need to find a trowel trowel - Bing in the garage. You also need to find a rubber mallet and level.

You need to wear gloves to protect your hands. And after your done, you'll need to moisturize the heck out of your hands.

So
Remove loose bricks.

Sweep down your walkway then hose it down.

Mix your cement.

Using your trowel, scoop a decent amount of cement on to brick. Place into spot it needs to go. Tap down with mallet. Check to make sure it's level with the other bricks in your walkway. Use your trowel to scoop extra cement that oozed out. Since you are a cook - think of cream filled cookie sandwiches or icing between cake layers.

Repeat.

In the spots that are missing cement, use your trowel again to scoop smaller amount of cement to fill in cracks. Remove excess.

Leave your walkway alone for 72 hours (or however long your cement mix bag says it needs to cure).

It's easy, just will be hard on your back and hands and be patient when working. Just don't let your cement mix get too dry, so again it would be best to work smaller amounts of cement at a time.
 

SoMDGirl42

Well-Known Member
Follow the directions on the bags for mixing it. Do only one bag (or even half a bag) at a time so it doesn't dry out before you get to it.

You need to find a trowel trowel - Bing in the garage. You also need to find a rubber mallet and level.

You need to wear gloves to protect your hands. And after your done, you'll need to moisturize the heck out of your hands.

So
Remove loose bricks.

Sweep down your walkway then hose it down.

Mix your cement.

Using your trowel, scoop a decent amount of cement on to brick. Place into spot it needs to go. Tap down with mallet. Check to make sure it's level with the other bricks in your walkway. Use your trowel to scoop extra cement that oozed out. Since you are a cook - think of cream filled cookie sandwiches or icing between cake layers.

Repeat.

In the spots that are missing cement, use your trowel again to scoop smaller amount of cement to fill in cracks. Remove excess.

Leave your walkway alone for 72 hours (or however long your cement mix bag says it needs to cure).

It's easy, just will be hard on your back and hands and be patient when working. Just don't let your cement mix get too dry, so again it would be best to work smaller amounts of cement at a time.

you're

:yay:
 

acommondisaster

Active Member
You need to wear gloves to protect your hands. And after your done, you'll need to moisturize the heck out of your hands.
.

Thanks for the great advice. And you did mention the most important part! Got me my trowel and I'm ready for action!

I know that I can bing (I don't google anymore since they decided Cesar Chavez was more important than Easter Sunday; plus google's a big obama supporter) and find answers to things, but I like to have REAL tips, rather than watching some cheesy video. When I ask here on the forums, I generally get the info I need, succinctly and with the pitfalls that the video guy won't mention, mixed in with some humor or drama. ;)
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
Well a tip not mentioned is that since you appear to be working exterior paving system that you should use a type S mortar, you are aware that there is a difference between cements and mortars and various types of each, right?
 

acommondisaster

Active Member
Nope. But I'm pretty sure whatever my husband bought last year is the right stuff, since he took the trouble to make sure he got the right color.
 
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