Broken bricks for hardcore under slabs....

[s999]

Everyone says that you can use broken bricks for the hardcore underneath slabs, and then put sharp sand over it followed by the slabs.

Do the bricks have to be 'broken'? I've got a load of whole bricks (cuz we knocked out a few fireplaces). Can I just lay them whole without breaking them?

And how to you break bricks anyway? With a sledgehammer? Must be hard work to break all of those bricks.

 

[2scoops0406]

You should really crush them. See here for an excellent discussion on groundworks.

 

[sandwell]

My garden path was laid many, many years ago. It was laid on coal slack which was ideal for the purpose, and plentiful then. Now we hardly ever see coal.