You can add beauty and value to your landscape with bricks made from concrete. The versatility of concrete allows you to make simple forms for bricks. These wooden forms can be used time and time again. By following these steps you can setup your own small brick making process for a weekend project.
Instructions
1. Lay out the area you want to cover so can have a good idea of how many bricks you want to make. For this project we will be using an 8-foot pine board measuring 1 inch by 4 inches for the brick concrete forms. The form will to hold enough concrete to make four bricks for each form.
2. Measure 4 inches for the form width on the 1-by-4 board by marking a line with the pencil and squaring a line for a straight cut. Be sure to wear your safety glasses when cutting any type of material with a circular saw. Cut the board and repeat the measuring and cutting until you have five, 4-inch long boards. Next measure 38 inches and cut two boards at this length.
3. Attach the four inch boards inside the two 40 inch board with two of the 1 ¼ inch screws using the drill motor and the Philips head driver bit. Begin at one end and attach the board, measure 8 inches, make a mark and screw on the next 4-inch board. This will give you one brick form, repeat the process until all five, 4-inch boards are in place. The form should have four openings that are 4 inches wide and 8 inches long and 3 ¾ inches deep.
4. Mix the concrete according to the manufacture's directions and pour into the forms. You can use a small piece of leftover board to level the concrete across the top of the form. It may take a little trial and error to mix just the right amount of concrete to fill the form. It is better to mix too little than too much. Allow the concrete to set up over night.
5. Remove one of the 40-inch boards by unscrewing the ten screws along one side of the brick form. This will allow for easy removal of the hard bricks. Reattach the form board and you are ready to go again. Of course you can make many forms in this manner and pour multiple bricks at one time. The more forms you have the more bricks you can make.
