Brick edging is the art of placing bricks to create a raised edging that can make your flower beds stand out, adds a border to your footpaths, and enhances your garden in more ways than one. Brick edging is far easier to create than stone edging. There are a number of standard brick edging styles, but a simple form of brick edging is the sawtooth style. Let’s look at how it’s done.
The basic tools you need for this are a measuring tape, some concrete mix, a shovel, a spade, a spirit level, a claw hammer, sliding bevel, bolster, handsaw, permanent marking pen, and string line for aligning the brick placement.
The front of the edge is best consisting of a concrete pavement mowing strip. This stabilizes the brick edging. The first step is to excavate a trench about 20 cm wide and 10 cm deep. Make sure the ground is level by using a spirit level.
Use a sliding bevel at 45 degrees and position the first brick of the edge at 45 degrees, and then pack concrete underneath it to hold it in position. Continue to add bricks behind the first brick. In order to align them, use a level string line starting from the top of the first brick all along the line of the brick edging. This string method is only for straight edging.
If the edging is not straight, to get consistent measurement between each brick, measure half the length of the brick, and then position each brick halfway down the back of the brick in front, until the edge is completed.
To make the brick edging stand firm, lay a concrete buttress on the inside edge of the brick edging and fill up the gaps under each brick with concrete. Batter the concrete to about 45 degrees in the shape of a triangle to form the buttress.
That is about it for constructing simple sawtooth brick edging. Wait for the concrete to dry before filling the leftover space in the trench with the soil dug out previously.
