Choosing Concrete Pavers

Choosing Concrete Pavers

 

Interlocking concrete pavers, segmental pavers or simply pavers come in a wide range of sizes, textures and colors.  The days of one or two choices are gone.  This can make choosing a new patio or walkway extremely confusing.  When looking at displays at a distributor, take note of these subtle and not so subtle differences:

1.  Paver Type:

Dry Cast

Wet Cast

Dry cast pavers are made with a very dry mix of gravel, sand, cement and color.  This mixture is poured into paver molds then hydraulically pressed and vibrated in the mold.  Since there is very little water in this dry mix, the molds can be immediately removed and re-used.  The pavers will cure, but are already in their finished state.  By using a dry or zero slump mix, dry cast pavers are quick and easy to produce by machines and are extremely strong.  Concrete mix produced from a concrete truck will have a psi of 2000 lbs or more.  Pavers produced using these hydraulic presses can easily exceed 8,000 psi.  After pavers have been set, a vibratory plate compactor can be used for final paver compaction.

Examples of dry cast pavers include Coventry I from EP Henry, Hera from Techo Bloc and Munich from CST.

Wet cast pavers are produced using a wet concrete mix poured into a mold.  Since this wet mix cannot be hydraulically pressed, wet cast material will need to set in the mold and will have a weaker psi, typically 6,500 psi or less.  The material must remain in the mold for a few days meaning the molds cannot be used as often as dry cast materials.  The wet cast process, while weaker and more time consuming allows for bigger sizes and more interesting textures.  The process to make wet cast pavers is strong, but it is too weak to use a tamping machine on for final paver compaction.  

Examples of wet cast products include Devonstone from EP Henry, Aberdeen from Techo Bloc and Blu Mountain Stone from Kennedy Concrete/CST.  

2.  Size/Scale:

Traditional pavers generally include 4x8 Brickstone and 6x6 and 6x9 Old Town Cobble.   Pavers now are available in various sizes from 4”x8” Brickstone up to 30”x30” Monticello.  Some pavers use one or two sizes for a specific pattern while other pavers use five or more sizes to achieve more of a natural “flagstone” look.

3.  Texture:

The surface texture of pavers can include a completely smooth surface (Village Square, Royale, Contempra),  to a tumbled paver (Coventry, Hera, Munich) or even a more natural look (Bristol, Blu 60, CST Slate Stone).  Devonstone and Kennedy Blue Mountain are wet cast pavers which very closely match the look of natural flagstone in texture, color and size.

4.  Pattern:

Pattern choices are almost as varied as paver choices.  Patterns include a very simple one size pattern such as running bond to two sizes such as an I pattern with Coventry 1 to a multi sized random pattern you can achieve with Brisol, Blu 60, Slate Stone or natural flagstone.

5.  Cost:

Generally, smaller smoother pavers such as Old Town Cobble, Parisien or Roman Cobble are less expensive than tumbled pavers such as Coventry 1 or Hera.  Additionally, larger scale and wet cast material such as Monticello or Aberdeen tend to be on the more expensive side.  Some good middle of the road material includes Munich, Hera, Coventry 1, Blu 60, Slate Stone and Bristol.  While the cost of pavers can vary greatly, the cost for the other components (2a base stone, sand, edge restraint ect…) is pretty much the same no matter which material you choose.