Tips for Planning Concrete Pavers Around Your House

You might be looking to upgrade the paving around your home—on the driveway or patio, for instance. A material that is worth considering is concrete pavers. Here are several tips if you're planning this kind of surface.

Design Options 

Concrete pavers offer endless design choices, being available in diverse colours, shapes and sizes. To give the impression of an ancient stone path, you could opt for pavers with tumbled, slightly roughened edges, similar to the edges of hand-cut stone. Cobblestone-shaped pavers evoke a similar rustic air. Alternatively, create a smart atmosphere with large square pavers in a geometrical diamond pattern.

Paver colours can be combined. For example, use hexagon-shaped beige pavers over a patio. In the centre, use the same hexagon pavers but in a dark charcoal colour, and piece them together to form a large hexagon shape in the middle.

Blending Pavers with Your House

Sometimes having copious options can make it harder to make a choice. But you can use your house and the environment as a guide to creating your vision. For example, you could pick a paver colour that is a couple of shades lighter than the house's external walls. This combination will create a harmonious setting without the paving competing with the facade. If your home has arches and curved architectural elements, the concrete pavers can be laid to form gently meandering paths or rounded areas. The external walls of your house have a texture, whether it be brick or stone. And you can choose complementary concrete pavers. For example, you could opt for visually warm faux-brick concrete pavers around a grey cement-rendered house.

Maintenance

You may also be interested in a practical feature of concrete pavers: how much maintenance do they require? They're quite easy to look after and don't need much upkeep. You can sweep and hose the pavers or use a pressure washer with an appropriate cleanser. The subbase of the paving is crucial to keeping it as maintenance-free as possible. Interlocking pavers are laid on compacted soil, sand and possibly crushed aggregate. So long as this is done well, the pavers shouldn't settle or drop. However, even if they do, the pavers can be lifted and the base redone because they're interlocked together without grout. Sand is scattered between the pavers, and this may need replenishment every few years. However, some sands contain additives that help them harden and stay in place for a longer period.

Concrete pavers can withstand heavy vehicles without suffering ill effects. Some patterns, such as a herringbone design, can help disperse the weight of vehicles and make a driveway more resilient. If any pavers do become stained or cracked, you can easily replace them. And you can access underground cables and pipes if required without damaging the pavers.

About Me

Michelle's Marvelous Concrete Repair, Maintenance and Purchasing Tips

Welcome to my blog. My name is Michelle. For the last 10 years I have been managing a block of flats, and I am responsible for booking all of the maintenance that happens on the grounds, and of course, that includes our concrete. In this blog, I am going to include a range of tips that should help you whether you are trying to hire a concrete contractor, improve your existing concrete or anything else. In addition to working and writing, I love to travel, spend time at the beach and read. I also enjoy hanging out with my girlfriends, trying new restaurants and training for marathons. Enjoy!

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