Most landscaped patios are made from two kinds of patio materials: pavers or concrete.

As experienced landscape designers, we’ve had decades of experience using both materials. In our opinion, pavers are the best patio material.

We love designing gorgeous patios for our clients with many paver options. It’s a lot of fun to imagine the possibilities for pavers surrounding pools or outdoor kitchens. Pavers give us many more tools to work with to design an amazing space for you, including sitting walls, grill surrounds, steps and pillars.

Brick pavers are individual units made of concrete that interlock together. This provides a more giving environment for expansion, contraction, and even heavy loads. They can be replaced individually. They come in a variety of shapes and colors.  Paving materials include sandstone, limestone, slate, concrete, granite, tar and porcelain are options. 

Concrete, while it is durable, it is almost guaranteed to crack due to ground settling, and repairs are a fairly-involved operation that usually requires heavy equipment. Changing temperatures can also affect concrete’s durability. Replacing a concrete slab can be expensive and frustrating.

Over time, the weather can cause the poured concrete slabs to sink and crack. 

On the other hand, because pavers are inter-locking individual units instead of one huge piece of cement, they are a more “giving” environment for weather changes that may cause expansion or contraction. High-quality pavers can take heavy loads.

This all adds up to the fact that a paver patio is much less likely to settle, but if it does, then you only need to easily raise that area.

Just like picking out a floor covering for inside your home, the options for outdoor patios are endless in shape, sizes, and finishes!

Pavers:Pavers come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Brick pavers are the cheapest. Natural stone pavers, called flagstone pavers, provide added elegance.

Color choices with brick pavers range from shades and blends of brown, red, grey. Earth tones are very popular now in outdoor settings. With brick pavers, we can lay a different color on the outside edge of the patio for a beautiful border.

Texture in pavers can be smooth using travertine stone or can have a texture like the Roman Tumbled pavers or Beacon Hill Flagstone textured pavers. 

We can create a unique patio stone design using different shapes- tumbled, to look very natural or a basic mission paver that is a rectangle and squared-off edges. Brick paver sizes range from your standard 4” x 8” to 21” x 14” and the list goes on. See our catalog for lots more options!

Concrete Patios: Yes, concrete patios have come a long way in beauty with the stamped concrete finishes and different color choices. But in my mind stamped concrete is trying to give the look of bricks and stone knowing people typically like that look better.  Why not have the real thing?  Your home is worth it!

Remember, whatever type of patio or sidewalk you choose, it will only be as good as the contractor that installed it. A company that does quality work and stands behind their work is who you want.

For a high-quality, long-lasting outdoor floor, we recommend having a professional hardscaping company do the work.

As you can see from this "before" photo, gaps between the DIY panels have allowed grass and weeds to grow in between. You deserve better than this!

After installation, a concrete patio needs to cure for a couple of days before it can be used.

A paver patio, however, can be used almost immediately.

Some people wonder: is it cheaper to build a patio with pavers or concrete? Concrete is cheaper, but plain concrete patios with no color or stamping don’t look very nice. They also can crack and stain. 

In terms of beauty, design options, and easy maintenance, brick pavers are a better choice. Pavers are prettier and more durable, but also pricier. However, brick pavers do come in different levels of pricing. Pavers have many different varieties, styles, and colors, making it worth the investment. 

If concrete cracks, you will spend money to maintain it, and eventually you will have to replace the entire slab, which could be a bigger investment. With pavers, you can replace pavers individually when the need arises, keeping costs of the patio manageable.

As far as cleaning, both options are easy to clean. Concrete can stain, so watch those spills!