How to make garden edging with bricks

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Bricks have been one of the most popular building materials throughout history. These decorative, masonry blocks are easy to handle and look great in a variety of different projects.

Being made from natural materials means their colours do not fade over time. Natural impurities and rock particles within the fired clay gives them varying tones and colour shades.

​Their functional aesthetics are no less appreciated within the garden! 
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Here they can be utilised for retaining walls, paving or border edging. One of the most popular uses for bricks is to make garden edging!

This is especially so for lawn edging where they can form the perfect mowing edge strip. Such brick edgings level with the lawn create a seamless mowing experience where there is no need to either strim or trim the lawns edges.

​If a lawn is laid to a perfectly, level, brick perimeter, you will consequently have a perfectly level lawn!

Therefore in this article I will explain how to make garden edging with bricks including brick mow strip edging. 

 How to install garden edging bricks. 

Step 1

​Plan where you would like your brick edging to be laid and if you want to lay them long ways or sideways. If you prefer sideways (215mm) bear in mind you will need twice as many bricks which will cost more. A wider brick edging will also require more excavation, hardcore and mortar to lay. 
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Step 2

Excavate a channel 150mm deep for the whole length of your proposed brick edging. Dig your base trench about 20mm wider than you need to so you have some play when laying. Make sure your foundation has square sides with no loose soil at the base. 
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Step 3

​Fill the bottom of your edging foundation with 60mm of compactable sub base. (mot type 1) Spread the sub-base to as even a level as possible and  compact with a sledge hammer or tamper. 
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Step 4

Lay a 1 metre long bed of the mortar over the sub base and ripple the surface to provide some workable play.

Try to make the laying bed a consistent thickness as possible. This will make it easy for the bricks to be tapped level. Gently tap the bricks down evenly one at a time levelling with a spirit level as you go.

If you wish to joint between the bricks, this can be done afterwards using patio, jointing mix. Keep going until all the bricks are laid how you want them and leave for 24 hours to set.
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Step 5

When the bricks are set wait for a dry period when the bricks and gaps are dry. Mix a jointing mix 1 part cement and 3 parts plastering sand.

Mix up the mix dry until it reaches a uniform colour and powdery consistency. Using water with some plasticiser ‘very gently’ add water to the mix. You do not want this mix to be too wet and stain the bricks!

The mix should be just damp enough to form a ball under pressure in your hand, that’s it! If the mix seeps moisture it will stain the bricks! 
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Step 6

​When the jointing has gone off in 24 hours you can fill in any gaps around the edging with topsoil. If the edgings are bordering a lawn the gaps can be dressed with grass seed. 
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Thank you for reading our article on how to make garden edging with bricks. If you are wondering how much brick garden edging is to install read our pricing article here.

We discuss how much garden brick mow strip edging costs to both by and install.

If you are planning on laying the edging yourself, visit our recommended tools for paving article below. 

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