The Advantages of Paving Stones
There is more to know when choosing a pavement than meets the eye.
As a conscientious homeowner, you want assurance that the pavement for your walkway, driveway, patio, or pool deck will look beautiful for a long time, require little maintenance, stand up to the weather, and return it's cost to you. They should also be easy to clean or repair as well as compliment the style of your home.
The popularity of paving stones is sky-rocketing, and it's easy to understand why. With advances in the skill and technique of laying pavers improving, as well as recent price drops - the unrivaled beauty, upkeep, and long-term cost efficiency of properly executed paving stone installations are becoming more and more apparent.
The following table exemplifies the benefits and disadvantages of all common paving materials.
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Concrete
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Stamped Concrete
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Asphalt
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Brick
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Flagstone
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Gravel
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Paving Stone
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Not Flexible. Will crack. | Not Flexible. Will crack. | Cracks from freeze/thaw. Settlement and salt deterioration. | Not Flexible. Will crack. | Likely to chip and/or crack. Individual, large stones allow for some flexibility. | Flexible but not permanent. Will not crack. | Extremely Flexible. Lifetime warranty against cracking. |
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Oil and other stains hard to remove. Ugly cracks are likely to occur that are relatively difficult and expensive to repair. | Oil and other stains hard to remove. Ugly cracks are likely to occur that are relatively difficult and expensive to repair. | Wear and weather will break down surface. Black seal coat required every 2-3 years. | Oil and other stains hard to remove. Natural surface variations lead to damage and chipping. | Oil and other stains hard to remove. Large and unique shapes make difficult to match and replace. | Replaced and leveled regularly. Ruts can form relatively quickly, marring the appearance. | Most stains are hidden, pavers are easily flipped or replaced. Lifetime warranty against chipping and cracking. |
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Difficult and Expensive to repair. Can not repair without ugly scar marks. | Difficult and Expensive to repair. Can not repair without ugly scar marks. | Errodes from oil drippings. Rut and pothole repairs leave visible patches. | Bricks are usually mortared together and very difficult to replace. | Large pieces make it difficult to replace. Replaced flagstone must be the proper size and fit. | Not prone to chipping or cracking, however maintaining requires regular replacement and leveling | Pavers small, uniform shape make them easy to replace. Pavers with stains can be flipped. |
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Available in grey or light brown, can be colored throughout or on surface only. | Stamped concrete looks artificial. Few color options. | Stamped asphalt looks painted and artificial. Few color options. | Traditionally available in shades of red and red-brown. Limited shapes & sizes. | Limited to natural colors and shapes. Very similiar design styles. | Limited to natural colors and shapes. Design patterns or styles are limited to the shape of the lauyout.. | Widest range of surface finishes, colors, shapes, and sizes. Wide variety in design styles. |
Fill out an Estimate Request Form or call us directly (818-244-4000) for a paving stone design consultation which includes a thorough education by our trained professionals in the difference between concrete pavers, clay pavers, poured concrete, stamped concrete, and bricks. Our representative will also conduct a complete evaluation of the area where you want to install the paving stones and recommend the best type and style to match your home's landscaping and your budget.
Concrete
Concrete is the most common paving method used, along with asphalt. It comes in either grey or brown, and will look generally the same at your home as any other's. It's low cost per square foot makes it the natural choice of many homeowners as it initially appears relatively inexpensive. In actuality, however, the inevitable cracking of concrete leads to a long-term cost that's far greater than installing paving stones, without any of the benefits pavers offer.
By its nature, concrete shrinks and therefore cracks. Cracks are immediately apparent, visible within 0 to 2 days of placement, while drying-shrinkage cracks develop over time. The reason contractors place joints in concrete pavements and floors is to allow the concrete to crack in a neat, straight line at the joint, where concrete cracks due to shrinkage are expected to occur.
As you can imagine, the cost of upkeep required by concrete quickly catches up to the price of paving stones, which are warranted for life. In fact, the average homeowner will spend approximately eight to eleven dollars a square foot when replacing existing concrete!
Stamped Concrete
Stamping concrete is a common way of attaining the patterns associated with paving stones at what is assumed to be a cheaper cost than actual pavers.
The "stamping" happens after the concrete has been poured and just before it sets up. There are several methods of stamping, but the most common is to use a rubber mat like material with the desired pattern molded into one side. Control joints are placed in the concrete in an effort to have the cracks follow the joints, but this does not always happen and the cracks can appear anywhere in the newly finished concrete.
Unfortunately, stamped concrete is just as prone to crack if not more so than regular concrete, due to the ridges etched out which create the paving stone look. In addition, just like regular concrete, for each repair that stamped concrete requires the uglier it gets. Trying to match the removed, cracked portion of any concrete job with a new piece is impossible without leaving scars.
Concrete is usually colored before it is poured. There are standard colors that can be added to the concrete as it goes into the truck, but the colors are not entirely predictable, and often vary from the intended color.
Asphalt
Asphalt, along with concrete, is the most common pavement.
Asphalt however has less durability than other paving methods, less tensile strength than concrete, the tendency to become slick and soft in hot weather, and it releases a certain amount of hydrocarbon pollution to soil, groundwater and waterways.
Like concrete, asphalt is prone to crack. Freeze and thaw cycles, deterioration from settlements and salt, and regular wear and weather breakdown are among the leading reasons for asphalt repair. In addition, asphalt requires a new black seal coat every 2-3 years.
Asphalt repairs leave the same "patch" look as concrete repairs, where the repaired asphalt will be different in color and/or texture, and will never match the original pavement.
Brick
Traditional brick patios are built over a 4-inch concrete slab. The bricks are set in a mortar bed and leveled one at a time, then all the spaces between the bricks are filled with a grout.
Not only is this process rather expensive because one is building two surfaces, but the grouted bricks and the concrete bed they are placed in have no flexibility once they are set, and are sure to crack at some point.
Interlocking brick patios are far more economical because they are set in sand, like paving stones, instead of in mortar over concrete. This allows the brick or paving stone flexibility, and eliminates cracking all together.
Bricks however, despite being relatively expensive, are very limited in their color, shape, and pattern options. In addition, their natural surface variations lead to frequent damage and chipping.
Flagstone
Flagstone is a generic term for thin flat rock that is used for and limited to paving flat surfaces. Flagstone is named from the location of the quarry it comes from. Arizona red is a reddish sand stone; Pennsylvania blue is a grey blue; Beijing green comes all the way from China. The cost of the stone is proportional to the shipping distance.
Usually a concrete slab is poured and the stone is set in mortar on the slab. However, in the interest of economy and longevity of the job, the stones can be set directly over the soil. This way the stones will then be able to move and shift over time. They will sometimes need adjustments, but will be much more flexible and less likely to crack when set in sand or soil.
Gravel
Gravel is defined as any loose rock that is at least two millimeters in its largest dimension (about 1/12 of an inch) and no more than 75 millimeters (about 3 inches).
Gravel is not as popular as other paving materials in the United States, but globally far more roads are surfaced with gravel than with concrete or tarmac.
Gravel obviously does not offer the same beauty as other paving surfaces, and is normally used where aesthetics is of lower concern. Regular leveling and adding of gravel due to ruts forming is required to maintain the original look.
Paving Stone
With advances in the skill and technique of laying pavers improving as well as recent price drops - the unrivaled beauty, upkeep, and long-term cost efficiency of a properly executed paving stone installation is becoming more and more apparent.
Paving stones come in a wide variety of surface finishes, colors, shapes, as well as laying patterns to compliment and beautify the architectural style of any home. (see our paving stone gallery). With a minimum rating of 8000 psi, paving stones are also the strongest paving material - rivaled only by brick - but unlike brick or other paving types, our paving stones come with a lifetime warranty.
Furthermore, one of the biggest advantages of paving stone is that if a repair ever becomes necessary, stained or broken pavers can be replaced easily, without leaving ugly patches or scars.
In Summary
Traditional concrete, asphalt, brick and gravel pavements clearly pale in comparison to paving stones. For more information on pavers please visit our interlocking paving stone index.
