Hardscape installers skills - natural stone vs concrete pavers
dc_pilgrim
14 years ago
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14 years agoRelated Discussions
Patio - stamped concrete vs. pavers - Conflicting Info
Comments (18)You know, it's interesting how when we travel to Europe or other parts of the world where we can see buildings several hundred years old, we appreciate the patina of age on things -- plaster showing its age, cracked stone paving, irregular color in brick, time-worn marble, and so on. In the US we always want to rip out the old, solid materials because of minor imperfectons, and replace them with something shiny, new, and not necessarily of equal quality. If there is a real problem with your tiles -- undermined and unstable surface, safety issues, water leaks, or whatever -- sure, replace them. But otherwise the older material has charm that pavers do not have, in particular with your nice brick wall and balusters. You'd want all your architectural elements to be speaking the same language....See MoreNew patio--pavers vs. stone
Comments (4)Your best bet for a flexible, non-mortared installation would probably be pavers with polymeric sand. If you prefer the "brick look" over the "paver look" then you could use clay brick pavers. As far as economy, it can go either way. My favorite patios are made from bluestone set over a stone dust base. I'm on a freeze/thaw climate, so the stone dust base allows excellent drainage to prevent frost heaving. The rectangular slabs of bluestone get gapped about 1/2" or 3/4" or so, the joints get packed with stonedust too. Over time moss will grow in the joints or a low creeping thyme can be planted in the joints. Bluestone is about $4-$5 a sqft....See MoreStone or Brick Coping vs. Cantilevered concrete (aka no coping)
Comments (14)In my area, SE Texas, cantilevered concrete coping in regular redi-mix is the same price as 9" brick or flagstone coping. Normally, I'll use an acrylic knockdown on top of the concrete, or colors and stamps during pouring for a patterned concrete finish. These both come in more than regular brick or stone coping. Coping is there for just the reason you mentioned, cosmetics. You could leave the gunite or shotcrete showing but it's ugly and not usually perfectly level. We use 6" strips of masonite, leveled, and nailed slightly above the gunite to set our mortar bed for the top of the tile line. This ensures that the waterline tile is level. Now the coping brick, stone, or cantilevered coping will be too. I hope this helps. See ya, Kelly...See MoreStamped Concrete vs Pavers. Pricing??
Comments (7)Five years ago we had a company install a paver patio. I can't remember exact dimensions, but I'm guessing it's 17 ft. at its widest by about 40 ft. long. We had them cut a long sweeping curve along the length so it wouldn't be a rectangular patio. They excavated, used minus, and brushed something in between the pavers that is dark and is still in place today. We've never had weed issues. They also installed a retaining wall 4ft tall with natural stone steps leading up to our deck. Underneath our deck area they also put gray rock since that area would be unusable. A large square firepit with the same pavers was installed as well. Total cost for product and labor was about $17,000. They got it done in 3 days and did an amazing job....See Moredaburke
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