The most commonly used building material used for outdoor spaces today is concrete. It offers a durable, solid surface and with Decorative Concrete can blend in with any surroundings. Pavers come in individual pieces. They may have an interlocking system or square edge design and are made from a few different materials. Some of these include clay, pre-cast concrete or stone. They are sometimes used as an alternative to concrete when paving walkways, driveways and exterior areas.
Installation and Cost Per square foot concrete is cheaper than pavers of any type. Therefore it is a more affordable paving material. Concrete offers a saving with time and labor costs as it is relatively easier to install than pavers. Pavers need tedious site preparation to prevent movement from the soil settling. This involves very time consuming ground compaction.
What Looks Best? Pavers are more visually appealing than plain grey concrete, there's no doubt about that. Through the texture and colors of pavers they convey a natural charm. Concrete being the versatile building material that it is can be made to look like pavers through the process of coloring and texturing without costing as much as pavers. Staining, stamping, stenciling, engraving and embedding with stones are just a few of the possibilities that can be achieved with concrete.
Maintaining As a surface, concrete is have very little maintenance. If sealed they are even more so. Sealer makes the surface impenetrable to spills and stains. The surface of Pavers are also very low maintenance but because they have spaces between each paving stone they will need very regular maintenance due to weeds, moss and grass growing up between them. Another problem with Pavers is that they can shift due to moving substrate and also cracks on mortared pavers. Some pavers can be sealed like concrete but others brick and some stone pavers are very likely to stain over time.
How Durable Are They? A solid concrete slab is more durable than pavers. This is quite a significant difference. Ground movement will greatly affect both concrete and pavers. Concrete slabs are susceptible to cracking when you have ground movement although the surface will remain flat. In the case of pavers they are individual units so they do not usually crack. They will sink individually. Thet downside to this is that you will quite often end up with a tripping hazard.
Replacement And Repair This is one area where pavers have an advantage over concrete. Because pavers are individual units, if a few get damaged, you can remove the damaged pavers and replace them with new units. This is relatively easy and inexpensive. With concrete it is not quite so easy. If you concrete suffers severe damage, and gets to the point where it needs to be replaced, it is a much larger job and more exensive operation to have the area reinstalled. This problem can be avoided by hiring a professional concrete contractor to do the initial laying of your concrete slab. They will make sure that the proper base preparation and that your concrete installed correctly. Do note, replacing your concrete slab should always be a last resort. This should really only be carried out when the structure is no longer sound. With the many advances in concrete resurfacing, cosmetic repairs can be carried out at a very reasonable cost.
Concrete And Pavers Combined It is pretty clear that both pavers and concrete have their pros and cons. If you are having trouble making a decision what to use you can use a combination of both. Concrete can be laid as a base prior to installing your pavers. This eliminates the problem of your pavers shifting and moving out of place and creating a trip hazard. To explore this option, contact a professional concrete contractor. - 30228
Installation and Cost Per square foot concrete is cheaper than pavers of any type. Therefore it is a more affordable paving material. Concrete offers a saving with time and labor costs as it is relatively easier to install than pavers. Pavers need tedious site preparation to prevent movement from the soil settling. This involves very time consuming ground compaction.
What Looks Best? Pavers are more visually appealing than plain grey concrete, there's no doubt about that. Through the texture and colors of pavers they convey a natural charm. Concrete being the versatile building material that it is can be made to look like pavers through the process of coloring and texturing without costing as much as pavers. Staining, stamping, stenciling, engraving and embedding with stones are just a few of the possibilities that can be achieved with concrete.
Maintaining As a surface, concrete is have very little maintenance. If sealed they are even more so. Sealer makes the surface impenetrable to spills and stains. The surface of Pavers are also very low maintenance but because they have spaces between each paving stone they will need very regular maintenance due to weeds, moss and grass growing up between them. Another problem with Pavers is that they can shift due to moving substrate and also cracks on mortared pavers. Some pavers can be sealed like concrete but others brick and some stone pavers are very likely to stain over time.
How Durable Are They? A solid concrete slab is more durable than pavers. This is quite a significant difference. Ground movement will greatly affect both concrete and pavers. Concrete slabs are susceptible to cracking when you have ground movement although the surface will remain flat. In the case of pavers they are individual units so they do not usually crack. They will sink individually. Thet downside to this is that you will quite often end up with a tripping hazard.
Replacement And Repair This is one area where pavers have an advantage over concrete. Because pavers are individual units, if a few get damaged, you can remove the damaged pavers and replace them with new units. This is relatively easy and inexpensive. With concrete it is not quite so easy. If you concrete suffers severe damage, and gets to the point where it needs to be replaced, it is a much larger job and more exensive operation to have the area reinstalled. This problem can be avoided by hiring a professional concrete contractor to do the initial laying of your concrete slab. They will make sure that the proper base preparation and that your concrete installed correctly. Do note, replacing your concrete slab should always be a last resort. This should really only be carried out when the structure is no longer sound. With the many advances in concrete resurfacing, cosmetic repairs can be carried out at a very reasonable cost.
Concrete And Pavers Combined It is pretty clear that both pavers and concrete have their pros and cons. If you are having trouble making a decision what to use you can use a combination of both. Concrete can be laid as a base prior to installing your pavers. This eliminates the problem of your pavers shifting and moving out of place and creating a trip hazard. To explore this option, contact a professional concrete contractor. - 30228
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