Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Question about laying brick and mortar

I recently had a new deck put on our home and to meet code there had to be a cement slab at the bottom of the stairs to the deck. I don't know if this is true everywhere, but it definitely is where we live in the snow country.

Anyway, I had the contractor put in a concrete base that is sunken enough to allow me to fill it up with brick & mortar to be level with the ground around it. The problem is that I am completely new to brick and mortar, although I have done part of a small tile entry way a while back.

Can anyone point me to step-by-step written instructions on this or another website? What exactly is mortar? Is it crushed rock plus cement that I will mix on site?

Any guidance appreciated.

Welcome to the forums! Mortar is a mix of sand and cement and water and it chemically makes a bond between brick and block. Try this...dig out around the pad a little and stand pressure treated 2x6 or 2x4 on edge around the perimeter leaving it the height of the pad plus a brick. If you fasten them around the pad you can "free" lay the brick in any configuration you want, and forego the mortar, or use sand in the joints. However, if you prefer to use mortar, you can purchase it in bags at most home centers. Follow the mixing instructions and make it the consistency of creamy peanut butter. Apply a generous portion on the side and edge of the bricks and place them in a bed of mortar, tapping them level as you go. A little more work than the "free" lay, but this is DIY country, anything goes!

chandler for something like that the drier the better as long as you can work it, the mortar will shrink less and be stronger. i would mix it like a stiff bread dough

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies.

You're probably right, I had just finished putting in a block foundation for an add on, and had the consistency for block in my mind.

Actually, mortar is not concrete, and it needs more water. The right consistancy for normal brick and block is just dry enough to stick to the trowel, drier than pancake batter, but wetter than dough. The masonry units absorb water from the mortar and it is that absorption which provides adhesion and bond strength.