Paving stones turn your driveway, patio, or walkway into an artist's canvas.
Hardscape is an essential component of every landscape design. Patios, driveways, and walkways utilize hard materials such as concrete, flagstone, and paving stones. Among these, paving stones, or pavers, have become one of the most sought-after options. Paving stones are shaped pieces made from brick, cement, or natural stone, manufactured to fit closely together and create a solid surface. They come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, allowing your outdoor flooring to become a unique work of art. Additionally, they are durable, affordable, and easy to maintain. If you are considering installing a driveway, patio, or walkway, pavers could be your best choice.
Paving stones offer many distinct benefits along with the standard advantages found in other paving materials. These standard benefits include creating a hard, flat surface that ensures ease of access, maintenance, durability, and comfort. However, pavers provide several unique advantages.
- Freedom of Design Paving stones are available in hundreds of colors, styles, and sizes. When combined with customized installation that reflects your personal preferences and lifestyle, your outdoor spaces will be truly one-of-a-kind.
- Flexibility of Use Paving stones can accommodate a variety of uses and solutions for complex landscaping challenges. A spacious driveway can transform into a visually appealing work of art. A walkway that snakes through trees and gardens can enhance the area’s aesthetics while providing a firm, smooth, and safe footing. An interlocking paver patio can be designed with colors and curves that create a welcoming outdoor living space.
- Built-in Safety Concrete surfaces can be very slippery when wet, leading to the risk of slips and falls. Pavers, however, are manufactured with a non-slip surface, making them safe for both walking and driving, regardless of the weather.
- Value Added Paving stones are among the few hardscape materials that can instantly increase your home’s value by up to 70% of their cost.
- Durability to Last Paving stones are at least four times stronger than regular concrete, ensuring their longevity. Their interlocking design prevents individual movement, while the joints accommodate soil shifts, providing a consistent surface without cracking.
- Easy Repair If a paving stone becomes damaged or settles, causing an uneven surface, it is simple to replace or level it. In contrast, damaged concrete often requires patching or resurfacing, which can result in mismatched colors and can be expensive.
Paving stones generally require little care, but some situations require maintenance.
- ou may need to add sand to some joints as the pavers settle, particularly in the first year or two following installation.
- Weeds, moss, and grass can grow in the joints, requiring the application of weed killer or manual removal.
- If a stone shifts or cracks, it may need to be replaced or require a new layer of bedding sand.
The installation of paving stones is a labor-intensive process that demands quality and knowledgeable work for optimal results. Here’s a brief overview of the installation steps:
- Excavate & grade the area.
- Compact the sub-base.
- Install Geotextile fabric over the sub-base.
- Install and compact a rock base and bedding sand.
- Lay the pavers one by one.
- Cut the border stones & set them in border restraints, commonly using a concrete bond beam.
- Sweep sand into all joints and compact the paver stones.
- Perform a final sand sweep to fill any remaining joints after compacting.
Paving stones offer unique advantages that other hardscape materials do not. They are visually appealing, versatile, safe, enhance your home's value, are durable, and require low maintenance. Reynolds Landscape can design and install an interlocking paver driveway, walkway, or patio that will enhance the beauty of your property and provide lasting functionality for a lifetime.
If you are interested in paving stones or any other landscaping service, Contact Us here
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Paving stones have many unique benefits as well as the basic benefits found in other paving processes and materials. The basics, of course, are creating a hard, flat surface that allows for easy access, maintenance, durability and comfort. But, pavers offer many unique benefits.
- Freedom of Design Paving stones come in hundreds of colors, styles and sizes. When combined with installation customized to fit your personal preferences and lifestyle your patio, driveway or walkway will truly be one-of-a-kind.
- Flexibility of Use Paving stones provide flexibility for a variety of uses and solutions to complex challenges. A large driveway can become a work of art full of geometric texture. A walkway that snakes through trees and gardens will be both visually attractive and provide a firm, smooth, safe footing. A interlocking paver patio can be designed with color and curves that will create an inviting outdoor room.
- Built in Safety Concrete can be very slippery when wet. Unsightly tire marks from a car that loses traction or a painful slip as you walk to your front door are circumstances that require a conscious effort to prevent when walking or driving on slick concrete. Pavers are manufactured with a non-slip surface making them care-free to walk and drive on.
- Value Added Paving stones are one of the only hardscape products that will instantly increase the value of your home as much as 70% of their cost.
- Durability to Last Paving stones are, at the minimum, four times stronger than regular concrete. They will quite literally last a lifetime. Because they are created to interlock so they won't move independently but have joints designed to cushion earth shift, they provide a smooth, consistent surface without cracking, bumping, and hollows.
- Repair made Easy If, for whatever reason, a paver gets damaged, it is a simple process to replace that stone. Concrete, on the other hand, requires, at a minimum, patching or resurfacing, and often a whole section or slab must be removed and replaced. Patching and resurfacing can result in mismatched colors that are an eyesore rather than eye-appealing.
Paving stones generally require little care, but some situations require maintenance.
- You may need to add sand to some joints as pavers settle especially in the first year or two after installation.
- Weeds, moss and grass can grow in the joints, making it necessary to apply weed killer or weed by hand.
- If a stone or stones settle or crack they may need to be replaced or a new layer of bedding sand applied.
The installation of paving stones is intensive. A quality, long-lasting paver project requires quality, knowledgeable installation. In brief, here is the process for installing paving stones:
- Excavate & grade the area
- Compact the sub-base
- Install Geotextile fiber over the sub-base
- Install and compact a rock base and bedding sand
- Lay the pavers one at a time
- Cut the border stones & set them in border restraints (commonly a concrete bond beam)
- Sweep sand into all joints and compact the paver stones
- Do a final sand sweep to fill any joints after compacting
Generally, you will pay a bit more for paving stones than standard concrete, but about the same, maybe a bit less, than stamped concrete. A concrete slab may cost a bit less upfront, but the long-term costs for repair and/or replacement will most likely outweigh the initial savings.
Paving stones provide unique benefits that other hardscape materials don't offer. They are visually appealing, versatile for various applications, safe, and can increase the value of your home. Additionally, they are durable and require minimal maintenance. Reynolds Landscape can design and install an interlocking paver driveway, walkway, or patio that will be both beautiful and long-lasting.
If you are interested in paving stones or any other landscaping need, Contact Us here
