Brick Paving Gold Coast, Byron Bay & Tweed
"Solid foundations underfoot that are still there in a hundred years."
Tony Steenson
WHAT IS BRICK PAVING?
The floor is the foundation of everything you look at.
The imprint of a skilled bricklayer’s paving stays long after the job wraps up – it’s under your feet every morning, visible from every window and even rolls out the “red carpet” for guests as they arrive.
Brick paving has become very popular in the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, and across the Tweed. It’s driveways and cobblestone entries, brick patios and courtyard floors, garden pathways, footpaths, and the kind of quiet feature work — a herringbone courtyard in recycled brick — that changes how a whole property feels.
Steenson Brick and Blocklaying works across residential and commercial bricklaying paving projects throughout the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, and Tweed regions, bringing the same skill and care to a winding garden path as to a full driveway.
Whatever the surface, one thing doesn’t change: an inspired pattern, on a strong concrete base, will be there forever.
OUR APPROACH
Tony always starts at the end – where it needs to look right.
Before a single cobble or brick goes down, Tony works with his clients to understand exactly what they want to get out of the project. It’s from this connection that creativity comes.
Once he’s on the job Tony arrives early to site, to lay out where the main visual point is going to land. Then he works backwards from it. The border goes in first — setting the height, giving reference points from edge to edge. Everything else follows from that. It’s not a complicated philosophy, it’s just his way to ensure that the floor finish is flat, straight, and intentional.
On foundations, speak to Tony about your options. A concrete base costs more at the start, but it’s what makes a driveway or courtyard last decades rather than years.
THE CRAFT (OUR PHILOSOPHY)
"A lot of guys don’t like floor laying. I actually love it."
Tony came up in bricklaying, but the floors – cobblestone driveways, herringbone brick courtyards, curved garden paths – are a passion. He’d rather be on his knees laying a cobbled driveway, placing each stone by feel and by eye, than doing a so called ‘easier’ job without the art.
Recycled brick work has been getting increasingly popular across Gold Coast and Byron Bay. These aged bricks come from old Sydney warehouses, and are stripped, mortar-chipped, and ready to use. They carry their own imprint from decades of colour variation and irregular sizing that a new brick never has. While many bricklayers fight that variation, Tony’s approach is to read it. He can tighten a joint here, open it there because his experienced eye shows him how each brick needs to work with the next. His favourite is a herringbone at 45 degrees, bordered by a soldier course because the result looks like it always belonged.
Cobblestone pathways and driveways have always been popular with Byron Bay architects. When it comes to Cobblestone Tony prefers the real thing – porphyry or traditional irregular stone, not the smooth, machine-perfect versions. The hardness of granite, either locally sourced or for some jobs sent all the way from Italy. The irregularity isn’t a flaw. It’s the character. Cobbles laid with expert care, grouted well, produce a driveway that will graciously greet you each day for lifetimes.
A relatively new material is brick slips – bricks pre-cut to 20mm – get laid like tile. They offer an innovative option for courtyards and pathways where full-depth brick isn’t practical and make the rich look of brick still possible.
CONSIDERATIONS
Things worth knowing before you hire a blocklayer.
Brick Driveway Foundation
There are two ways to lay a brick, paving or cobblestone driveway: on compacted metal dust, or on a concrete slab. Metal dust is less expensive upfront, however over time, water gets underneath and breaks down the base. A concrete slab — 150mm thick for driveways carrying vehicle weight — is the foundation that most clients choose these days. Concrete will keep a brick or cobblestone driveway solid for decades. The extra cost at the start pays for itself several times over.
Cobblestone Character – Traditional vs. Smooth
Not all cobbles are the same. Traditional porphyry stone is irregular in shape, rough in texture, and genuinely old in character — the type found still gracing European streets after 600 years. Smoother, more uniform cobbles are also available, often coming on mesh backing. They’re easier to source, but they lack the character and ‘old world’ feeling. If the goal is a cobblestone courtyard or driveway that looks like it earned its place, the irregular stone is worth the extra consideration.
Brick Patio Pattern – Herringbone vs. Straight
Bricks can be laid straight, but herringbone — especially at 45 degrees — gives a very specific angle to a brick patio or courtyard floor that inexplicably feels different to those who walk it. Some clients consider it more expensive because it is more cuts, and it takes a steady eye to keep the lines true. But the angles work on the eye offering depth and interest, as a reminder of monuments built in the ancient past.
Tony prefers to supply the blocks and manage the order. This ensures that the right size blocks are ordered for the specific job at hand. It means less waste and a more efficient schedule. Contact us for a quote.
Brick Driveway Foundation
There are two ways to lay a brick, paving or cobblestone driveway: on compacted metal dust, or on a concrete slab. Metal dust is less expensive upfront, however over time, water gets underneath and breaks down the base. A concrete slab — 150mm thick for driveways carrying vehicle weight — is the foundation that most clients choose these days. Concrete will keep a brick or cobblestone driveway solid for decades. The extra cost at the start pays for itself several times over.
Cobblestone Character – Traditional vs. Smooth
Not all cobbles are the same. Traditional porphyry stone is irregular in shape, rough in texture, and genuinely old in character — the type found still gracing European streets after 600 years. Smoother, more uniform cobbles are also available, often coming on mesh backing. They’re easier to source, but they lack the character and ‘old world’ feeling. If the goal is a cobblestone courtyard or driveway that looks like it earned its place, the irregular stone is worth the extra consideration.
Brick Patio Pattern – Herringbone vs. Straight
Bricks can be laid straight, but herringbone — especially at 45 degrees — gives a very specific angle to a brick patio or courtyard floor that inexplicably feels different to those who walk it. Some clients consider it more expensive because it is more cuts, and it takes a steady eye to keep the lines true. But the angles work on the eye offering depth and interest, as a reminder of monuments built in the ancient past.
Tony prefers to supply the blocks and manage the order. This ensures that the right size blocks are ordered for the specific job at hand. It means less waste and a more efficient schedule. Contact us for a quote.
WHY STEENSON BRICK AND BLOCK?
Most bricklayers don't enjoy doing the floors. Tony does.
Steenson Brick and Blocklaying has been paving our ways for 40 years and Tony is one of the best in the business. A job is never just a job for someone who loves the work. There’s a point on a curved herringbone pathway, somewhere between the first course of the border and the last cut piece before the garden bed, where the whole thing starts to look like it was always going to be there. That’s what Tony loves.
If you’re putting down a brick driveway, a cobblestone courtyard, or a set of garden paths that wind through something wonderful, get in touch.