How to do Brick Border Edging

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Make mowing a breeze with this brick border edging!

Sunken bricks make it easy to just mow straight over them.

Brick border edging makes mowing easy and keeps borders looking tidy and contained. Overall, this gives a really neat finish to the garden.

You can put in brick edging at any time of year, but it’s better to choose a dry day for it.

Equipment

Engineering bricks
Sand
Ready-mixed mortar
Spade and bricklayer’s trowel
Watering can or bucket for water
Wheelbarrow or board for mixing mortar

The time it takes will depend on the length of run.

Instructions

The bricks can be laid on a 12.5cm (5in) footing of sand. Assuming your bricks are 7.5cm (3in) thick, you need to dig a trench 20cm (8in) deep. Start by digging the trench along the full length of the border, making it slightly wider than the length of brick you are using.
Line the entire length of the trench with a 12.5cm (5in) deep layer of sand, tamping it down very firmly.
Make up the mortar according to the manufacturer’s instructions, using either a wheelbarrow or a board for mixing. Lay a stretch of mortar on the sand at the start of the trench and set the first bricks into it, mortaring neatly between each brick.
Continue in this way for the length of the trench, allowing for any curvature along the way by inserting a slightly wider band of mortar between the bricks on the lawn side of the edging. The brick edging should be flush with the grass edge or very slightly below it.
Leave the mortar to dry and set before running a mower across the edging.

Tip

Check that all the bricks you use are sound and whole – the wheels of a mower going over them can give quite a battering, which will soon destroy a damaged brick.

Notes

If you prefer you can use concrete instead of sand for the footing – it will be even stronger. Use ready-mixed concrete and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for its use.

Aftercare

Lever up and replace any cracked or broken bricks as soon as you can after spotting them. Once there is a break in one brick, those adjacent to it will also start to crumble and disintegrate. Brush dirt, leaves and debris off the brick edging to keep it looking good.