Brick Patio Designs...
create beautiful traditional outdoor patios

It is important to choose the right material for your patio. Brick patio designs are probably the most common design used in South Africa.

The material selection you decide on for your patio has a big impact on it's style and, as bricks has an air of tradition, as well as the fact that they are so readily available in South Africa, it is a popular choice.

When you decide on the material to use, remember that your brick patios must integrate to the rest of your home. The harmonious flow of design and style between your house and your landscape is what adds real value to your home.

Bricks come in a wide variety of colours, textures and shapes and considering the infinite number of patterns that can be used to lay them, your brick patio design can really be a work of art.

Paving bricks are fired at high temperatures and lasts much longer than the common bricks used to build walls with. The different textures and colours of paving bricks blend well with almost any other type of material like concrete pavers, granite or wood.

South Africa is only now replacing all the old wooden railway sleepers with concrete ones and these weathered sleepers can be used for all types of things. One of the things I often use them for is as an edge to finish my brick patio designs.

Let’s look at some of the most common brick paving patterns:

Basket-weave or parquet

A basket-weave pattern basically consists of four pairs of bricks laid in a square. See the graphical illustration here.

The simplistic elegance of this pattern works very well on large areas.

Setting a basket-weave pattern in sand is a very informal look and the bricks don’t need to be too level, which allows for a natural look.

It is an easy pattern to lay and can be done quite readily by a do-it-yourself home improver.

Running bond

Running bond is the most common way of paving and I normally use them for straight pathways and small areas where you do not want your paving's design to take away from the beauty of the rest of the area.

The straight lines of this pattern makes small or narrow areas appear larger than what they really are.

Herringbone

Herringbone is a nice lively pattern and once you have established an edge, it is not too difficult to lay. I try to use it with facebrick homes, or as pathways next to boundary walls, as it always complements the running bond pattern of the wall.

Concentric

This is a beautiful pattern but it does need a big area to come to its full right. I usually make use of a concentric pattern in a driveway or I use it for parking areas.

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