I’m mostly a computer nerd. In the past when I’d move to a new house, the first thing I did was setup my PC. If it wasn’t for my wife, I’d probably be that guy with the overgrown lawn and a few small fires burning somewhere on my property.
She has big visions for our yard and I ended up becoming the brick cutter. My father in-law originally taught me how to do it, then he just set me loose. I have to say, I really respect his ability to teach me things. He is admirably kind and calm when helping me learn something.
Method
Step 1: Drawing lines
Use a right angle to measure and draw a line down the center of the brick across all sides.
Step 2: Cutting
For this step I wear safety glasses, ear plugs, a dust mask, and work gloves. Brick dust and fragments will be flying everywhere. It’s a messy process. I use an angle grinder with a diamond blade ( I can’t advise taking off the blade guard but I honestly can’t see where I’m cutting with it on).
I hold the blade straight and cut a shallow line all along the brick first. I do this because the brick dust will cover up the pencil lines after you get going. After cutting the shallow guideline I cut the line for real, letting the blade sink in as deep as it can go. My blade is too small to completely cut through so I need to cut from all sides.
The brick is not cut all the way through so I’ll need to bend it to easily break it in half then grind it smooth on the edges.
Step 3: Smoothing
The brick edges that were in the middle will need to be smoothed so I use the angle grinder like an actual angle grinder and I grind it smooth.
The result
Why did I cut this brick in half? The bricking pattern my wife chose did not use all the bricks at even rates. Sometimes we needed more rectangles than large squares so I cut large squares in half. This was mainly done around the edges where the rough edge will never be viewed once the grass grows in.
This technique can be used at various angles to produce a brick that will always fit into your designs.
Results
Here are some examples of where I’ve cut custom brick shapes for our yard. I’m proud that I learned how to do this. There is something very satisfying about carving something rock-solid into whatever you want.
