Inevitably bricks/pavers will need to be cut or split when building walkway. Unless you want to buy or rent an expensive wetsaw, I would suggest purchasing a simple brick/paver splitter. It is basically a chisel with a wide end that is width of bricks/pavers. To actually cut/split brick/paver, lay it in a bed of sand and place chisel at a 75% angle over spot where you want to break brick. Then using a hammer strike butt end of chisel firmly. You may need to do this a couple of times. You may also want to flip brick/paver over and strike other side of brick using hammer and chisle. Within one or two strikes brick/paver should break cleanly. If your walkway has curves you will need to buy/rent a wetsaw.

After installing bricks, build up outside edges with additional sand, and then shovel in topsoil and pack down firmly.

Finally, spread stone dust over new walkway and sweep into cracks. Repeat this process a couple of times to ensure cracks are fully filled. This will complete interlocking of bricks and help to eliminate any weed growth. Just add grass seed to outside edges and you should have a beautiful entrance to your home within a couple of weeks.

Me_Donovan@comcast.net www.homeadditionplus.com

Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with building homes and home additions. Mr. Donovan's formal education & profession have been as an Electrical Engineer & Marketing Manager.

Drill a quick pilot hole thru bits. This pilot hole should be less than half diameter of screw you intend to insert. Handy www.homeimprovementor.com tip - if you want to gauge depth your have drilled, place a bit of tape on drill bit.

Countersink on top piece of wood, so job will look nice and sit flush. Insert screw and tighten till head is flush with countersunk hole. Don't over-tighten or most modern self-tapping screws will start to 'chew up' wood, and may even become loose!

To hide screw head (especially important on jobs where security is an issue!) use a dowel plug. You'll have to drill countersink a little deeper for this, of course. After inserting plug, simply sand it down level with board.

Handy tip to prevent splitting when screwing near end of a board - drill a larger hole and insert a dowel, then screw into THAT instead of wood itself. Easy huh? Till next time, happy screwing!