Building your own brick or tile patio will save you hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you did the job yourself. There are a number of things to think about when designing and building your own patio, so check the internet for helpful sites. I have found several websites that provide good tips and instructions along with great visuals to guide you along.

But, one thing that’s a bit harder to find is a list of the basic tools you may need to complete the job. Please note this may not be a complete or comprehensive list, because there are differences in patio design that require different patio tools, and I may also have simply forgotten a thing or two.

Save Yourself Unnecessary Frustration

Needless to say, there is nothing more frustrating than having to make an unplanned trip to the hardware store right in the middle of trying to complete one of the construction steps because you forgot to get a needed patio tool.

Use the following list to get started, and as you plan and design, think about any additional tools you may need. The key is to have as complete a list as possible, and to then have your tools available and laid out when you begin the job.

List of Patio Tools

-Safety Glasses or Safety Goggles (very important when cutting, splitting, sweeping, tapping, etc.)

- Measuring Tape

- Knee pads

- Work Gloves

- Wheelbarrow or Hand Truck

- Easy-to-read Level (the longer the better for speed and accuracy)

- Broom (for clean up and working sand into the paver joints as you complete the job).

- Basic Shovel

- Masonry Saw or Brick Saw (you can rent this so make sure one is available. You can also use a circular saw with a diamond chip blade.)

- Screed Board (you can make one with a 2 by 10 board. Use guides on each end and then drag screed board to level the sand or gravel base you are preparing)

- Hand Trowel (used for spreading sand or gravel, adjusting pavers or tiles, scraping excess sand from edges, etc.)

- Vibrating Plate Compactor (to press tiles/pavers down and level them. Great for larger jobs)

- Hand tamper (for small jobs, a hand tamper is enough. You can even make your own with squares of plywood nailed together into the end of a 4 x 4).

- Pry bar or flat bar to adjust joint alignment by adjusting pavers or tile

- Mason’s trowel or ice scraper tool (to pack sand tightly into the joints once patio is completed.)

- Hammer and wide Mason’s Chisel (for basic crosscuts on final end pieces.)

Again, this may not be a complete list of everything you’ll need, but it’s a great place to start. Remember, thinking through your job and having all the right tools available really helps to make the job go faster and makes it a lot more enjoyable.

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