How to Block a Patio
- 1). Clean off the concrete of the patio by sweeping it and hosing it down with water. Mix up a bag of cement mortar mix to use on the blocks.
- 2). Spread sand over the patio with a rake. You need a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.
- 3). Place the blocks and leave a 1/2-inch gap between them. Repeat with additional rows of blocks. If you want to create a pattern, you must figure it out before you start laying the block; put the block down in the pattern that you want. Simple patterns include basic staggered seams or alternating colors of block, but can be more complicated, like turning blocks in different directions.
- 4). Cut blocks with a wet saw to fit along the ends of rows if there isn't enough room. Measure the end, minus the 1/2-inch gap you must leave, and mark the block. Cut slowly with the wet saw so that the block doesn't crumble or chip excessively.
- 5). Place cut blocks with the cut end facing inward.
- 6). Cap the edges of the patio with blocks standing on their long ends so that they cover both the blocks on top of the concrete and the concrete below it. Spread 1/2-inch-thick mortar over the edges of the patio, and place the blocks to the edges, if you are going to insert mortar in between the other blocks. If you are going to fill the gaps with sand, then you need to dig a trench and insert landscape edging around the patio border to hold it in place. Stakes are used to anchor the edging into the ground.
- 7). Add the mortar to a grout bag with a mixed-up batch of mortar if you want mortar in between the blocks. Fill the gaps between the blocks with mortar by squeezing the bag as you move the tip along the open lines. Flatten the mortar lines down with a trowel as you go. Let the patio set for two more days to cure. Leave the patio to dry for a day before you walk on it.
- 8). Spread sand over the patio if you are filling the gaps with sand instead of mortar. Sweep it into the cracks and spray the patio with water to settle it.
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