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Landscape Design

Pavers vs stamped concrete

Tony Paulauskis

7 years ago

I posted this in the remodeling forum but this was more suited Imo, apologize if double posting isn't allowed.

So, Im very surprised in the extreme difference in price between the two. I have about 2800 sqft of old boring concrete for my driveway and pool deck. I have a quote for stamped concrete (tear out and replace current concrete than stamp) OTD of about 28k, or around $10 per sqft Including a monolithic slab around the pool deck since the pool while in ground is raised out of the ground about 2 feet for fema flood zoning, then 6 6 foot and 1 8 foot set of concrete steps formed into the slab.

I just got a paver quote today from the same company thats doing the entire landscaping job for the front and back yard. The same sqft only difference is they are doing a paver coping (where as with stamped were leaving the coping alone) and doing a retaining wall with same size steps on the side of the pool instead of the monolithic slab. Their price was around 48k or about $17 per sqft and that doesn't include demo as they would go over the existing concrete around the pool and I would hire a third party set of labor workers to rip out the driveway. Are pavers really that much more expensive these days? Or should I get another paver quote? I was always of the opinion that pavers were about 2-3 dollars more per sqft vs stamped, But maybe IM wrong IDK. Even with the increased price I'm still leaning towards pavers. IM just trying to avoid getting screwed. Thanks!

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Comments (3)

engrgirl
7 years ago
What climate do you live in? What's included in each the concrete or paver option? There can be a big difference in the quality and method of installation, and the cost. For example here in zone 4 we have bad freeze and thaw cycles. Pavers are (or should be) always quoted with at least 4-6 inches of a compacted base under them, and 10-11" under driveways. But concrete is sometimes quoted as a 3-4 pour on dirt (cheap and reall prone to cracking). Better concrete companies will put in rebar or wire mesh, and/or compacted base underneath,and/or thicker pours up to 6-7" thick. As with many things, you get what you pay for and a better quality installation will be less prone to problems down the road. Even with a quality concrete installation it still may be cheaper than pavers, but make sure you are at least comparing "quality paver installation" with "quality concrete installation".
Tony Paulauskis
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
IM in zone 8B. We have a very mild climate, maybe see snow an odd year and even then its 3-4" at most. With the concrete its 6" thick out front becuase its a driveway and needs to support vehicles. Out back the monolithic part is 2 feet thick then it tapers down to 4". On pavers they are going right over the existing concrete around the pool, but wire and mortaring the coping around the pool, Out front after the driveway is removed they're going to dig out 12 inches and fill with gravel, compact and then put down sand, and compact and lay the pavers.
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"A friend of my wife has pavers they self installed around the pool." This is probably the reason they are having problems. Did they compact the ground correctly? Are they experienced with installing pavers? We had our pavers in since December through our PB and we haven't had any sinking issues at all. Like said above, if one chips or anything you just pick it up and replace it and don't have to worry about unsightly cracks in your deck. We love the look of ours. If you go with standard concrete pavers, be sure you chose the "white cement based" paver and not the gray. They will be much cooler on the feet. Gray cement based pavers tend to be super hot and make walking on your deck very difficult. Sand has not really been an issue for us. When they were first installed there was a lot of sand on the deck, but with brushing it into the creases and a few rain showers, the sand compacts itself between the pavers and you don't feel any sand on your feet. DH just recently added more sand last week (he's anal about stuff like that) and the gritty feeling is already gone thanks to the amount of rain showers we've been having.
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Yardvaark
7 years ago
There are many variables and I get the sense that you are not getting bids based on a drawn plan and written specifications. The first problem with this is that bids will be on apples and oranges so cannot be compared to one another, from company to company. Since you are talking about many thousands of dollars difference, it would behoove you to have bids made only on what is drawn and written ... and then get 3 bids. Since you WANT pavers, have the plans drawn up for them. If three bids for pavers are all too high, adjust the plan and specs for stamped and proceed getting bids on that. It may be possible for a company who does both to give you a price for stamped based on the paver plan & specs. You'll need to ask.

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