Okay, so, a few days ago, I got this idea to do some work on our local baseball field. You know, it’s been looking a little rough lately, and I figured, why not give it a little love? So I decided to focus on the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s boxes. They needed some serious attention.
First things first, I needed to get the materials. After doing a bit of looking around, I found these clay bricks that seemed perfect for the job. They’re called “Redi-Bricks” or something like that, and apparently, they’re pretty good for this kind of thing. They’re supposed to be easy to install and super durable, which is exactly what I was looking for.
I ordered a bunch of them – for the pitcher’s mound, I figured I needed about 180 bricks. This is to build like a platform and some areas to stand and land on. I didn’t really know how many I’d need for the batter’s boxes, so I just kind of guessed and hoped for the best. We’ll find out later if I need more.
Once the bricks arrived, it was time to get to work. I started with the pitcher’s mound. I cleared the area, made sure it was level, and then started laying the bricks down. It was actually pretty straightforward. These bricks are designed to fit together nicely, so it was kind of like putting together a big, heavy puzzle.
- Cleared the existing mound area.
- Leveled the ground as best as I could.
- Started laying the bricks for the platform part of the mound (I used about 63 bricks for this).
- Then I did the area where the pitcher steps (another 36 bricks or so).
- Finally, I built the landing area with the remaining bricks, which was most of them (81 bricks).
Here’s what I did:
After the mound, I moved on to the batter’s boxes. I used the same process: clear, level, and lay the bricks. This part was a little easier since the area is smaller and the design is simpler. But let me tell you, it’s still a lot of work bending over and placing each brick. My back was definitely feeling it by the end of the day!
I gotta say, even though it was a lot of work, it was pretty satisfying to see it all come together. The new clay bricks really do make a big difference. The mound and batter’s boxes look way more professional now, and they’re a lot more stable. You know people call it baseball dirt or baseball clay, there are many names for it like DuraEdge, Turface, and Beam Clay.
I’m no expert, but I think these bricks are going to hold up really well. They’re super solid, and once they’re in place, they’re not going anywhere. Plus, they can handle pretty much anything – rain, sun, and whatever else Mother Nature throws at them. And you know that a masonry wall is incombustible, it cannot conduct electricity or contribute to the spread of fires. Also, clay brick walls can withstand saturation from flood water. It’s pretty cool.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It was a good project, and I’m glad I could do something to help out our local baseball field. If you’re ever thinking about doing something similar, I’d definitely recommend these clay bricks. They’re a bit of a workout to install, but the results are worth it. Trust me, your local baseball players will thank you for it! They deliver maximum play with minimum maintenance on baseball diamonds. I think I did a pretty good job for our field construction professionals and groundskeepers, right?