Enhance Decks and Patios with Stone Pavers

Adding even a simple stone patio to your home’s exterior can dramatically affect the way it looks, but selecting the right material for your deck or patio can be quite a chore considering how many options are available to you. Planning and design can be another point of frustration because there are so many design possibilities. Though it’s usually better to have more options than less, the process of elimination can be tiresome. So, to perk things up for you, this article on stone pavers should help you decide whether or not this material would be a good fit for your deck or patio project.

When selecting stone pavers the key element is making sure they compliment other areas of your landscape, such as walkways, walls, and your home’s siding.

What exactly are stone pavers?

They can be made from natural stone or from concrete. They come in a huge assortment of colors, shapes, textures, patterns, sizes, and designs and are used for patios, decking, steps, pool paving and coping, walkways, porches, and driveways.

Advantages of Paving Stones

They are 4x stronger than concrete.
They’re easy to install and are low maintenance.
They don’t shift because they’re set in a friction base sand mixture and thus remain flexible and are easy to replace.
They’re earthquake resistant.
Paving stones give you the look of natural stone but cost dramatically less, giving you a higher return on investment.

Tumbled or not?

There are various appearances you can achieve when selecting your stone pavers. The most common is the tumbled stone. A stone that has been tumbled has gone through a process that makes it appear weathered and antiqued – old world charm. There are varying degrees of tumbling to the extent of stone pavers looking centuries old. Tumbled has a much more natural appearance than non-tumbled pavers. Beveled pavers have a chiseled, smooth edge and, though they have a clean cut look, they’re not tumbled.

Color Choices

It’s important that the color of your home and the material of your home (e.g., brick, shingles, etc.) blend well with the type and color of the stone pavers you plan to use. A white house with wood siding would give you some easy choices. You could go with rust, browns, beiges, and tans. But, a brick house will not be so easy. Use the color of the grout in your brickwork to help match paver colors: gray grout = gray pavers, beige grout = beige tone pavers.

Another area where color comes into play is mixing in some different colored pavers. For example, you could use one uniform color for the center of your patio and add a complementing color in a design or as a border.

Creating a stone paver patio can be a rewarding experience in many ways. You’ll enjoy the outdoors more, your landscaping and home will be enriched, and you’ll be increasing the value of your property.

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