So, you’re looking to spruce up your patio, walkway or garden path, are you? Excellent choice! We’re way past the archaic days when a boring slab of concrete suffices as landscape design. Here in the 21st century, your yard desperately needs the architectural elegance of pavers or stamped concrete to complete its overall atmosphere. Before jumping into any decisions, let’s first lay out the pros and cons of pavers and stamped concrete:
Pavers
What are they? Pavers are separate pieces of natural stone, brick or concrete that fit together to form a design.
Different types of pavers: Natural stone, brick or concrete
What are the advantages of pavers?
- Extremely durable and unlikely to crack
- More cost effective because minimal maintenance is required
- Long lasting and easy to clean
- Pavers are virtually maintenance free
- Installation is smooth and swift
- Because each unit is individual, you can mix and match colors for a unique design
What are the disadvantages?
- With heavy traffic and wear pavers can shift apart or crack. To combat this, you can seal some types of pavers to increase longevity. Additionally, it is often more cost effective to replace individual pavers than repair cracks.
- Need to fill cracks with sand occasionally
Note: do your homework and make sure your job is done to industry specifications and hire a reputable company (All Terrain!) to do the work when dealing with pavers. There is an art to the correct preparation and installation of any type of pavers. Need more convincing? Check out the poll results on this Houzz discussion of pavers vs. stamped concrete.
View our gallery of paver installations.
Stamped Concrete
What is it? Stamped concrete is one large body of concrete that is stamped with a rubber imprint after being poured to take on the appearance of cobblestone, brick, wood, tile, etc.
What are the advantages of stamped concrete?
- Variety of design options
- Comes in a variety of patterns and colors
- Simulates brick, slate and other materials but costs less initially
What are the disadvantages?
- Extreme temperatures (especially in Colorado weather) and settlement causes cracks that require additional and costly maintenance down the road
- Unlike pavers, if one section cracks you can’t simply replace the broken piece
- Stamped concrete creates puddling and runoff
- Matching new colors to old colors during repairs can be difficult
- Takes 3-5 days after installation to settle
Our vote? Pavers every time. If you’re looking for a lifetime of longevity and don’t want to deal with the pains of concrete, pavers are the quality way to go. Next choice is deciding what type of pavers you want. Natural stone pavers are more expensive than brick or concrete, but are highly desired for their natural beauty and unique characteristics. Brick pavers are very strong and stain resistant for the long haul. Concrete pavers are the most affordable, and are often dyed to look like brick and are also very strong and durable. Have you been contemplating a new patio, walkway, courtyard, etc.? Your pals at All Terrain are hardscape certified and can take care of the entire process, start to finish.
P.S. Schedule your hardscape design before Nov. 15, 2016 and receive $200 off OR receive a free fire pit*! Give us a call at 970-304-1183 to get started.
(*Any install over $5K, fire pit value up to $250, ask for details)
