Do-It-Yourself Masonry

This image shows only part of an ambitious project a friend of mine hired me to do as part of beautification project for her backyard. The full project consisted of three patios that fanned out in a T. Imagine a patio at every end-point of the T and even one where the T intersects. Needless to say, this is one project I was glad to see come to an end, as I was getting a little older then and the amount of time I spent bent over really took a toll on my back.

By: David W. Moore If you are a do-it-yourselfer and have been contemplating enclosing your backyard or patio, then you might want to consider doing it with brick. Although a brick fence may cost more than your typical wood fence, I think the advantages that brick have over wood are worth the trade-off. First of all, bricks are more durable. A brick fence would probably outlast the homeowner-in most cases. Secondly, there is less maintenance required. Once a brick fence is constructed, that’s it; while a wood fence has to be repainted periodically or it soon becomes an eyesore. Besides, I think a brick fence does more, aesthetically, for your yard or patio than a plain old wood fence would. So, let’s get started: Preparing the Foundation: The hardest part of readying the foundation is excavating it. If it is a large project, you might want to get some help with this part or maybe pay someone to do it for you. Don’t worry; this is still a DIY project since our primary concern is the la