When choosing hardscaping for your driveway, pool deck, patio, or garden, there are typically two options that involve concrete — poured concrete slabs and concrete pavers. In this article, we’ll explain how they differ and identify which material offers the greatest value for hardscapes and landscapes.
Poured Concrete vs Concrete Pavers for Outdoor Spaces
Before we get into the cost discussion, let’s first walk through the differences between poured concrete and concrete pavers.
Poured concrete slabs are large concrete surfaces that are poured as wet concrete mixes onsite and left to cure as a single slab. They are one of the most common methods for constructing concrete driveways. Sometimes a concrete slab is stamped with a tile-like pattern while it is still wet; this is called “stamped concrete.”
Concrete pavers come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors, and can be arranged in various patterns. Pavers are not poured like slabs; they arrive dry and ready to install. There are two types of concrete pavers — interlocking pavers, which are incredibly thick and sturdy enough for driveways and parking pads, and architectural pavers, which are thinner but ideal for landscaping and interior flooring.
Which Concrete Paving Option is More Cost-Effective?
Now that you know the differences between the two options, which one is more cost-effective? Poured concrete or concrete pavers? To answer this question, it is important to not only examine the initial costs of both, but also the long-term costs of maintaining each surface.
As far as installation costs and concrete costs go, poured concrete is technically the most affordable per square foot. However, even though the upfront cost of pavers is higher, concrete pavers offer greater value and durability than poured concrete and stamped concrete. This ultimately means that concrete pavers are the most cost-effective option overall.
Why exactly do concrete pavers offer the greatest value in the long run? Let’s dig a little deeper.
The Problem with Poured Concrete and Stamped Concrete Slabs
Although installing concrete pavers technically costs more money than pouring concrete slabs, the truth is that poured concrete slabs come with higher costs overall when you take into account the repairs they require over their lifespan.
Poured concrete slabs will crack when presented with encroaching tree roots, freezing and thawing cycles, and other disturbances in the ground underneath. When a concrete slab cracks or shifts, there’s not much you can do to repair it seamlessly other than patching it or replacing the entire slab, which can be incredibly costly.
Why Concrete Pavers Are More Cost-Effective
Although concrete pavers cost more upfront, they are significantly more durable and flexible than poured concrete. Concrete pavers are individual pieces, which make the overall paver pattern more flexible and accommodating of fluctuations in the ground when dry set. Concrete Pavers are also more resistant to damage caused by water and floods.
Simply put, pavers look beautiful and make a great first impression. Concrete pavers provide an appeal that carries an unspoken message of quality, sophistication, and lasting performance. Where aesthetics are a priority, interlocking concrete pavers can provide beautiful and stunning, yet functional, paving in place of alternatives such as asphalt or poured concrete.
From the designer’s perspective, concrete pavers are exceptional for their sheer creative potential. Available in an array of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, pavers allow unparalleled choice in product selection and application. Whether the desired look is weathered and rustic; classic and timeless; or modern and contemporary, pavers are the perfect medium for creating unique designs.
Concrete pavers are manufactured and installed to easily withstand repeated pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as well as the everyday wear-and-tear of family life.
In fact, some manufacturers like Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers produce concrete pavers that far exceed these industry guidelines. Properly installed concrete pavers, following industry recommendations, will easily last 20-30 years with minimal maintenance and with proper care can be expected to last 50 years or more. The high-strength concrete paving units offer resistance to rainwater, floods, and deicing salts, high abrasion and skid resistance, minimal damage from petroleum products, and do not experience indentations from high temperatures
One primary advantage of pavers is that they can be taken up and replaced without compromising the aesthetics or the structural integrity of the pavement. If a paver gets dislodged, it can be re-set very quickly and inexpensively. In the same way, concrete pavers can be easily and seamlessly added if a driveway expansion becomes necessary. They also facilitate incremental construction, affording a homeowner the opportunity to add paver areas in phases, depending on site and budget considerations.
Furthermore, the exceptional durability of concrete pavers means that fewer resources are needed to repave and replace surfaces over time. They simplify surface and subsurface repairs by reinstating the same paving units; there are no unsightly patches or weakened pavement from utility cuts. Concrete pavers also provide heat island mitigation. Many urban areas suffer from a phenomenon known as the heat island effect, wherein light and heat reflection from the built environment can raise local temperatures in warm weather by as much as 22° at certain times of the day.
Affordable and High Quality Concrete Pavers by Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers
Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers handcrafted concrete pavers have the look of natural stone and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to meet the aesthetic vision you have for your hardscapes and outdoor living spaces.
Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers Project Gallery
To learn more about using handcrafted concrete pavers by Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers for your upcoming project, we invite you to request a quote below, get a sample kit, or call or text Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers today at:
ANDORRA TILE ROOFINGS, INC.
MIT BLDG – 117 Gorordo Avenue,
Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines 6000
Tel.: (+6332) 232-6777 or (+6332) 231-3888
Mobile/SMS: (+63) 922-590-6472
Email: info@andorratile.ph
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