Can I use brick chunks instead of gravel for drainage?

September 28, 2006 12:01 PM

Can I use broken chunks of brick in place of gravel for landscape drainage? I don't have access to gravel right now but I have some old bricks and I need to make a small ditch next to a house drain well.

The house is a very small guest cottage that I have had to dig a shallow ditch in front of for drainage (someone had piled dirt all the way up to the siding to cover pvc pipes with electric wires in them). Now I want to fill the ditch with gravel before winter but I can't really order a whole truckload of gravel for this small space.

I suppose I could buy bags of gravel somewhere (not sure - I've never done that). But I do have lots of bricks in the back yard.

My main concern would be that the bricks would absorb moisture. Or would they? Are there other reasons I wouldn't want to use brick chunks for this purpose?

posted by cda to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Bricks definitely absorb water. I do not know how much or how that would impact the flow. You're also looking at having to hammer them to break them up. Also, bricks are rough and pointy. If you leave your brick chunks exposed, someone could get pretty scratched up if they were to fall into your ditch.

Gravel is available in bags from most of your hardware stores like Lowe's or Home Depot. If you have a large local nursery, they may also have bags of gravel available because it is frequently used in landscaping. Also, look in your phone book to see if there is a stone dealer or local quarry which may also be able to sell in smaller volumes then a full truckload. They're good because you can tell them the dimensions of your project and they can help guide you to the amount you actually need. I'm thinking of a company like Luck Stone which is local to Virginia.
posted by onhazier at 12:33 PM on September 28, 2006

Why not just tile the drainage ditch with brick? Saves you from having to break them up.
posted by electroboy at 12:49 PM on September 28, 2006

If you want cheaper crushed stone go to your local concrete redi-mix plant. You can usually get a couple 5-gallon pails full of stone for a few dollars. Hardware stores and landscape supply stores will charge you much more.

Crushing the bricks up with a maul will work too. Any moisture retention will be minimal and will really cause no harm. If you are ambitious you should go that route. I wouldn't use the bricks whole though. Break them up into at least ten pieces.
posted by JJ86 at 1:23 PM on September 28, 2006