Link: http://www.pacificpavingstone.com

Here's one of those little-known facts about paving stones vs. concrete: poured concrete (whether it's stamped or not) uses about four times the water, square foot for square foot, that is used in the manufacture of paving stones.

Why? When concrete is poured it has to, well, pour. Getting concrete to the consistency it has to be so it can pour out of a truck and spread across the area it has to fill requires a lot of water. The exact amount depends on the final strength needed: too much, and the finished concrete will be too weak for the load; too little, and so much air is left between the particles that the resulting slab crumbles. Even if the mix is just right, poured concrete must be left to cure for several days before it is ready for vehicle traffic. And, of course, you do have to keep the dog, the neighbors' dog, and the kids off the concrete while it is wet to avoid permanent "footprints" in your new deck or driveway.

When paving stones are made, the mixture uses very little water but a LOT of pressure, which forces out the air and creates an incredibly strong chemical bond that is four times stronger than concrete. Pavers are also installed with a small gap between each of the stones. When this gap is filled with sand the microscopic amount of flexibility that remains permits paving stones to adjust to temperature variations and even earth tremors without cracking or separating.

Since we're talking about little-known facts, here's another one: concrete paving stones (any concrete, in fact) continue to harden, year after year. The concrete in a building that is a few decades old can be as much as five times stronger than it was a year after it was poured.

Link: http://www.pacificpavingstone.com

You asked and asked, so we did it. Pacific Pavingstone now has a special department with its own dedicated staff to take care of the smaller paving stone installations and repairs that our regular crews weren't able to do cost-effectively for the customer.

We announced this in the last e-Newsletter, but somehow posting it on the blog seems more official.

This has allowed us to scrap our minimum price level for installations, so if you have a small patio or walkway that you want to replace (or create) with paving stones, we are equipped to provide all the legendary Pacific Pavingstone quality of service at an affordable price.

Call 1-888-600-PACIFIC (7224) or go to the estimate request page on our website.

Link: http://www.pacificpavingstone.com

In today's economic climate, exterior home improvements offer the best way to maintain home values. At the same time, it's important to ensure that hardscape features such as driveways, decks and walkways look fantastic going in and will stay that way over time.

When it comes to designing a replacement for tired asphalt or concrete driveways, interlocking paving stones provide the home owner with more design options and value-for-their-money than any other surface. Concrete and asphalt crack. That's just a fact of life that's inherent in the material. Paving stones don't. Again, that's just the way they are. So when it comes to figuring out the cost-benefit equation for a major home improvement, paving stones make the most sense.

On our paver design pages you can see some of the range of colors and patterns available. Our major suppliers, Belgard, Angelus and Olsen, all offer their own unique combinations of colors and textures, so the choice is enormous. That's why we send a designer to your home or job site to help narrow the selection to the ones that are most likely to fit your taste and budget.