Paver patios and walkways provide a traditional outdoor living space. Usually installed at ground
level, their naturally low stature helps create privacy. Their warm colors and exciting textures
create a comforting, easy to maintain surface to relax upon during your cherished summer free time.
Sounds great, but what to make your patio of? Pavers or bricks? Interlocking or modular?
Concrete or clay? So many questions. So many options. Here are some facts:
Generally, when you think of bricks that are used in landscaping, you're thinking of a paver brick.
A paver brick is any brick that has been compacted or hardened enough to resist water
absorption, making it suitable for in ground use. A house brick (typically more porous) is most
often not capable of surviving the in-ground freeze/thaw cycles here in Michigan. Paving bricks
can be made of either clay or concrete. Similarly priced, they both will work well for your patio,
walk, or driveway. Each has certain desirable characteristics. Here’s a brief explanation:
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Clay pavers are traditional bricks, just fired longer for more density and minus the mortar
holes present in house bricks. They’ve been in common use for centuries. Although only
about 2% of the millions of bricks manufactured in this country are designated for use as
pavers, we still have a large selection to choose from. Clay pavers typically come only in
the traditional brick size and shape so fancy patterns are harder to create, but they more
than make up for it with rich, natural colors and textures, which maintain their classic looks
with little or no maintenance for decades. Check out Belden Brick for more information.
Concrete pavers (often called interlocking pavers) were invented in post-war Europe, in
response to a shortage of clay, to repair roads and buildings damaged by World War II.
They are made of a standard concrete formula, dyed a variety of earth tone colors, and
shaped in numerous configurations which create patterns ranging from simple to ornate.
Concrete pavers have come to dominate the North American market not because they are
better than clay pavers, but due to aggressive marketing over the past 25 years. They make
beautiful landscape pavers. Probably their only questionable quality is their tendency for the
color to fade over time. If this is of concern (and frankly most people don’t notice it) an
occasional application of sealer tends to brighten the colors and may reduce surface
deterioration. See Unilock for more information.
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Paver construction methods are simple in concept. There are three basic steps. First we
excavate existing soils in order to install a uniform, granular base. This will consist of various levels
of compacted gravel and sand depending on the site conditions and intended use of the paved
area. Once the base is in and firmly tamped down, we level, smooth, and pitch it (for proper
drainage) to the exact form we want the pavers to take. Finally we lay the pavers, fill in with joint
sand, secure the edges, and give it a final mechanical compaction. The following diagram was
taken from Unilock’s Tech Guide for Paving Stones and Retaining Walls:
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