To turn a catastrophe into an asset, they decided to replace their sidewalk with something that complemented their 1940s brick home. They chose to build a combined walkway and patio using brick pavers.

"A friend of mine had done her own brick project and suggested it to me," Stacy said. "When she told me how easy it was to do yourself, I was sold."

Once they calculated the square footage, the Stevenses went to the annual "Paver Days" event in their community, hosted by Pine Hall Brick, the nation's largest supplier of clay pavers. They looked at the different options for color and texture, saw a demo on how to install them and found a paver that matched their house.

The couple installed around 500 square feet of pavers, including a 10-foot-wide walkway and two adjoining semi-circles.

"I did just about everything except digging and cutting the brick. Dwayne handled that," Stacy said. "This is the kind of project that anyone, man or woman, can do."

She offers the following advice to anyone considering doing a paver project.

* Do your homework. "There's a lot of information available on the Web and through retailers about how to do these projects. Plus, you want to find sales on the brick to keep the cost down."

* Keep it simple. "Don't over-plan or have such an elaborate idea that it's impossible for you to do yourself."

* Block out time to do it. "If you can, set aside a few days or a week to do it from start to finish."

For more information on do-it-yourself home improvement projects using brick pavers, visit your local home improvement store, call Pine Hall Brick at (800) 334-8689 or visit www.pinehallbrick.com.