Choosing between pavers, natural stone or concrete for your patio or other outdoor areas can be a hard decision to make. Being the primary outdoor space used by you and your family, the choice of surface covering for your patio should be one that you’ll be happy with for many years to come.
Unlike plantings and furniture, hardscape materials are not easy to change once they are installed, so it’s a big commitment.
Your patio is where you'll spend most of your time in your landscape, so you'll want to pick a hardscape material that creates the right atmosphere for your landscape design. Choosing the best hardscape material for your Landscape depends on your style, vision and budget.
1. Concrete Pavers:
- Concrete pavers offer a multitude of style choices, from modern to classic that are beautifully suited to many patios, outdoor kitchens and pool areas and offers many choices for designs.
- Classic style pavers that mimic the look of brick are a popular choice for traditional and historic style homes because it is the ideal paving material if you want to create an established and authentic look. But the modern style with irregular shapes and precision cuts can be used in modern and Mediterranean landscapes as it is easy to adapt for use in more contemporary designs.
- Concrete pavers can also be irregular or square shaped and laid in many patterns including herringbone, basket weave and even circular patterns.
- The biggest advantage to concrete pavers is the variation of colors, from white wash to grays and browns to red, so you can choose to mix and match colors or alternate depending on your pattern.
- Concrete pavers is often more costly than other pavers because it requires a lot of grading, backfilling and labor to install and is prone to shifting and breakage — though with skilled installation and regular maintenance, your landscape installer can curb the adverse affects of weather and age.
2. Natural Stone Pavers:
- It can be difficult to choose the best stone for patios as you have a lot of options when it comes to natural stone pavers. You can choose flat-topped uniform stone or rough-edged irregular shapes.
- Natural stone pavers can be made of slate, flagstone, travertine, and limestone, colors vary naturally and offer a rich, textured, earthy appearance.
- The type of natural stone you choose depends on the look and feel of your patio and landscaping. Irregular flagstone can create a gorgeous, rugged look with a lot of detail, while uniform dimensional stone offers a more linear and symmetrical patterns.
- Because it needs to be excavated from a quarry, natural stone is expensive. It also requires more labor to install and level due to the uneven thickness and irregular shapes of the stones.
- Some types of stone can discolor unevenly in the sun and incur damage by snow and ice removal techniques.
- Natural stone can shift and move over time especially if your landscape requires a lot of grading or backfilling but if they've been installed properly they'll last a long time without cracking.
- Depending on the spaces and fill between stones, you'll need to watch out for expanding gaps and weed growth. Stones can be set in concrete, which can also crack and require repair.
3. Poured Concrete:
- Traditional, textured, gray poured concrete is the most inexpensive yet versatile option.
- Poured concrete patios can be formed into any shape and thickness, which means you can have an affordable patio to suit any function in your yard, from simple dining to a pool surround.
- If you want to add more style to your poured concrete patio, you can have it stamped, scored and colored to accommodate any pattern and color scheme.
- Like concrete pavers, concrete is ideal for creating level surfaces.
- It's the easiest material to take care of because it's durable and only needs to be resealed every few years.
- Due to weather changes, extreme seasonal temperatures and age, concrete can crack, no matter how well it was initially installed and how many joints were put in place to prevent it.
- It can be slick when wet, so you'll need to consider this if you are planning to install it around spas or pools.
To improve the appearance of your landscape you must choose the best materials, location, and method. At South Atlantic Masonry and Concrete Contractor located in Atlanta and Florida, we give you four tips that you can keep in mind when deciding to renovate your yard:
