I realize this is an old thread, but I am responding to add new information. When I renovated my patio 12 years ago (2010) my contractor used Capitol Pavers. The company had been around for 4 generations, ,so I had confidence that this was a good product. the result was a beautiful patio. Fast forward to 2016, we decided to remove the solid concrete around our pool and replace it with pavers. We used the same contractor, who told us that Capitol had gone out of business, so we would not be able to match the existing pavers on the patio. We chose a Cambridge product, completely different from the existing patio. Here we are now, 5 years later, and the original pavers from 2010, now 12 years old, are crumbling around the edges. The original warranty on these pavers was a lifetime warranty. I guess lifetime is more about the life of the manufacturer, not the lifetime of the paver. I have no recourse because the company is out of business and the pavers are no longer being made. I was told by an installer that Capitol had problems with several batches of their products which began to decompose over time, and that's why they went out of business. So my options are basically 1) Replace all of the existing patio pavers or 2) Sit around and watch the existing patio pavers decompose.

25 years ago I had to choose between stone dust and sand when laying a brick patio using standard sized bricks. The underlying ground here in Virginia is fairly high content clay, I can absolutely state that stone dust is the way to go.... here are a few pointers; 1. Use a rigid but moderately flexible edge guard to define the area. I used aluminum about 4 inches tall. Don's use something softer like plastic or nylon as it will flex and your bricks will start to migrate all over the place no matter whether you use sand or stone dust. 2 . Use 4 inches of stone dust, but apply 2 inches first...then compact it with a manual or mechanical tamper....then thoroughly soak with water and wait a couple of days before applying the 2nd layer of stone dust and tamping and watering again. (BTW, I really don't understand the comments about stone dust not draining well....you will see the water soak quickly through the stone dust.) 3. Make the area as level as possible using a screed (look it up :) 4. Install some water permeable landscaping membrane on a fairly well leveled area. This will promote drainage and stop weeds from infiltrating from below. I will also make it easier to slide the bricks into place. 5. Install the brick. Either full size bricks or the thinner pavers. I used full size bricks which are more stable. To ensure that the bricks are level with one another, place a piece of piece of wood (approx 3" x 8" by 3/4" ) across the surfaces of the brick you are working on and its adjoining bricks...then hammer it with a large mallet until they all the bricks are even. Give then some good wacks...full-sized bricks can take it so long as you use wood as a buffer. Be gentler with the thinner pavers. 6. Depending upon your personal preference, you can butt the bricks directly up against one another or place a think spacer between them. I use pieces of asphalt roofing shingles to maintain uniform spacing. I like the look and using spacers allowed me to adjust the alignment for bricks which may not be uniform size. 7. Regardless of which way you go on item 6, sweep stone dust into the joints between the bricks. Wet the area, let it dry and repeat again. The irregular shapes of the stone dust will lock the bricks into position much better than sand, which is more round. Sand will not get into some of the smaller joints between bricks. 28 years later I am still VERY happy with my results. Occasionally a nearby tree root will distort things a bit but that will happen with either sand or stone dust. I just remove a few bricks and cut out the root. The only periodic maintenance I need to do is sweep new stone dust in the spaces between the bricks one ever 4-5 years. Good luck.

Hi Mangomoon, I'm not an expert in this stuff but i did build 2 concrete paver walkways a few years ago. Here's what I remember from my research back then and my experience. "Traditional" brick is made from clay. Good for walls and fireplaces but has some drawbacks for walkways and patios. One thing is that they can chip pretty easily. Modern "pavers" are made from concrete and are designed for strength and durability as walkways and patios. They are available in many different shapes, sizes and colors, even "brick" look-a-likes. There are many manufacturers and costs vary widely. Poured concrete is a relatively inexpensive way to create a patio or walkway but doesn't offer many design options. However, one can add color to concrete and there are concrete "stamps" that can be used to create a faux stone or brick look. Bricks and concrete pavers are usually installed on a base of sand and gravel. Sand is usually used to fill the gaps between joints. As such, they do allow some water permeability. Still, it is recommended that the project be gently sloped to allow water to run-off away from the nearest building structure. This will be more critical with poured concrete. Heat retention will depend largely on the color chosen. Lighter will be cooler. I'd be surprised of there is much of a difference between similarly colored bricks or concrete but I don't know for sure. I think brick and concrete will have the same "hardness". The skill level required to build a simple square patio with pavers isn't too high. It is more physically demanding than anything else. And, most of the work is in the base preparation. i.e. excavating, getting it level, put in a gravel base, then put in a level sand base. Indeed, the better the base preparation, the better the final job. If you use a concrete paver, installation is easy. If you don't have to make any cuts, no special tools are required. I'd suggest looking at some of the manufacturer sites for concrete pavers, if you think you might like to go that way. I used Unilock brand (others are Bolduc, Belgard, Nicolock...just Google "interlocking pavers"). Good luck...

If you are going over concrete that slopes toward the house, you won't solve a water problem by putting something on top of it at a different grade, the water will simply find its way between the two layers and then you'll have a different issue of the top layer falling apart in addition to the water still flowing to toward the house. Using the composite paver grids might be the solution for the top layer as it is designed to "float" but it won't direct the water differently. Have you checked at a place that sells pavers to get some advice? Look for some place that sells Belgard pavers or a similar brand (not a box store) or a Siteone landscape supply outlet and go there for some advice.