Paving materials


 

The trick when designing your patio is to make it blend into the surrounds while adding to them. To do this you are free to use every trick in the book. You can use materials which contrast with their surrounding or complement them but care should be taken when trying to match materials as a bad match can be the worst scenario. Nor should you restrict yourself to just one material as mixing in an additional material is a very good way to break up areas of paving and differentiation between different areas. Just don’t over do it!

Below I’ve put together a table of most of the paving/drive materials currently available, the list though is not exhaustive. The cost column is really only to give a very broad indication of the relative expense involved in using different ones The exact cost would depend on many factors including site conditions and how much if any of the work was undertaken on a DIY basis.

Paving Materials 

Material Cost Advantages Disadvantages
Bark Low
  • Low cost
  • Flexible
  • Soft
  • Water permeable
  • Tends to spread about
  • Needs edging
Gravel Low
  • Low cost
  • Flexible
  • Comes in a very wide variety of colours and shapes
  • Water permeable
  • Tends to move about
  • Needs edging
  • If to soft it will quickly disintegrate
  • Only suitable for level areas
Plain concrete flags Low to medium
  • Low cost
  • Readily available
  • Provides a smooth surface
  • Does not need pointing
  • Good under sheds and for utility areas
  • Visually unattractive
  • Very heavy
Coloured concrete flags Low to medium
  • Low Cost
  • Readily available
  • Provides a smooth surface
  • Do not need pointing
  • Visually unattractive
  • Very heavy
  • Colours fade – particularly reds
Buget riven flags Low to medium
  • Low cost
  • More attractive than plain flags
  • Do not need pointing
  • Not as attractive as the more expense flags
  • Limited range of colours and sizes
  • Poor finish
  • Limited range of patterns
Premium riven flags Medium
  • Very wide range to choose from
  • Large range of flags shapes and sizes
  • Can be as expensive as imported flags
  • Care needed to ensure they are laid with the correct fall
  • Limited life
Imported stone flags Medium
  • Almost limitless life
  • Very hard wearing
  • Cost is equivalent to/or less than premium manmade flags
  • Needs a diamond blade to cut them
  • Brittle so hard to work
Block paving Medium to high
  • Very wide range of colours and patterns
  • Very hard wearing
  • Small size makes them very flexible
  • Must be securely edged
  • Red ones fade
  • Large areas can look like parking even if its not
  • Cannot be cleaned by pressure washing
  • The surface must be 600mm above the watertable
Stone setts High
  • Hard to very hard wearing
  • Small size makes them very flexible
  • Difficult to lay
  • Need a very solid base
  • Expensive
  • Need to be pointed
New sandstone flags High
  • Almost limitless life
  • Natural product
  • Very attractive
  • Heavy
  • Expensive
  • Requires skill to be laid well
Reclaimed sandstone flags Very high
  • Almost limitless life
  • Laid well are very attractive
  • Particularly prone to becoming slippery
  • Very heavy
  • Very expensive
  • Require skill to lay them well
Mosaics High to very high
  • Can look very attractive
  • Unusual
  • Requires a lot of skill
Sandstone crazy paving Medium
  • Flexible
  • A cost effective alternative to sandstone flags
  • Needs skill to lay it well
  • Can be hard to source
Tarmac High
  • Makes an excellent hardwearing surface
  • Smooth
  • Flexible
  • Comes in a range of colours
  • Requires specialist skills to lay
  • Only practical if sufficiently large area
  • Must have a secure edging
  • Limited range of colours
  • Not very attractive
Cobble paving High
  • Can look very good in the correct setting
  • Hard to source good warn cobbles
  • Very uneven surface
  • Prone to being slippery
  • Requires a lot of skill to lay it well
Decking Medium
  • Can be laid in a range of patterns
  • Comes in a range of finishes
  • Very good for levelling sloping sites
  • Flexible
  • Prone to being slippery
  • Limited life
  • Requires more maintenance
  • Needs to be lifted off the ground
  • Any decking surface over 300mm above the ground level requires permission from your local authority
Concrete slab Medium
  • Smooth
  • Can be textured
  • Laid well it is very durable
  • Capable of supporting heavy loads
  • Very good for utility areas
  • Requires skill to lay
  • Large areas require good access
  • Difficult to make good if it is damaged
Pattern impressed concrete Medium
  • Visually much better than plain concrete
  • Is only a surface treatment so prone to surface damage
  • Very difficult to make good if damaged
  • The colour will wear away where car wheels repeatedly run over it
Brick High
  • Small units allow flexible designs
  • Small thier small sizes makes trhem good for small areas
  • Bricks must be carefully chosen because of the risk of frost damage
  • Skill required to lay
Reinforced grass Medium
  • Provides a visually “soft” appearance
  • Water permeable
  • Only really suitable for car parking or intensely used footpaths

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