CONCRETE PAVERS VS NATURAL STONE

When turning your eye to creating or doing up your outdoor areas, a paved area is a fantastic base to work from. It becomes the central area where guests tend to congregate in your yard, and from here you can expand with seating areas, garden beds, footpaths, a BBQ area and garden features.

While laying a concrete slab can be quick and easy, it lacks in design aesthetic. But if you’ve decided to pave your outdoor room, you’ll have a range of colours, textures, styles and paving patterns to choose from. Your first decision will need to be whether to go down the path (so to speak) of concrete pavers or natural stone.

To help with this decision, we’ve laid out some of the main benefits of concrete paving for home projects.

Concrete pavers

Consistent Colours & Formats – Concrete pavers are made with a mix of cement, sand, aggregate and specific oxides to create colours. This allows concrete to be made in consistent chosen colours and a variety of sizes and styles.

Consistent Thickness – Concrete pavers are made to a specified thickness, whether it’s 40-50mm for light traffic, or 80-100mm for industrial purposes. This allows you to prepare your base and lay a consistent, smooth paved surface. A number of Adbri Masonry pavers even include a nib on the sides to help you maintain the standard 3mm gap between pavers, making laying much quicker and easier.

Tested Slip Rating – All Adbri Masonry pavers have a NATA lab tested slip rating. This means you can choose a paver that is going to be safe for its intended use, whether it’s a footpath, pool surrounds or a driveway.

Easier To Maintain & Repair – Segmental pavers are typically laid on a bed of compacted roadbase and bedding sand. Firstly, this allows the paved surface to flex when dealing with heavy loads. It also means that in the event of cracked pavers or movement over time, the offending pavers can be lifted and replaced, without disturbing the rest of the paved area.

Made Locally – All Adbri Masonry pavers, bricks, blocks, retaining walls and concrete sleepers are made right here in Australia, almost entirely with locally sourced materials. When it’s made locally, the money stays here, paying local workers and Australian taxes.

Lower Transport Footprint – We have production plants in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, so our products have travelled a shorter distance to get to you, reducing transport costs, fuel usage and environmental impact.

Cheaper – Added to all the above benefits, concrete pavers are usually cheaper per m2 than natural stone.

Natural stone pavers

Imported Product – Whether you’re considering bluestone pavers, travertine, granite or slate pavers, these will almost always be imported products. This means even though they’re a natural product, there is a big environmental footprint in the transport of such heavy stock from overseas.

Inconsistent Aesthetic – Being a natural product, colours and textures may not be consistent, especially when you’re working on larger jobs or extensions. The product you order may come from a number of different locations, resulting in a noticeably different look from first to last paver.

Need To Be Laid On Concrete – Natural stone pavers are thinner cut, which means they need to be laid on concrete. This requires a much higher skill level to get it right compared to laying on a bed of roadbase and sand.

Difficult To Repair – When pavers are laid on a concrete base, repairs are more difficult and costly as you’re essentially working with a decorated concrete slab.

It’s up to you to decide which material is going to work best for your yard, how you’ll be using the paved area, and the overall look you’re going for.

If you choose to go with the affordability, consistency and longevity of concrete pavers, Adbri Masonry has a fantastic range of pavers to suit all design styles and uses. Check out our pavers today and make the most of some of our DIY resources;

Everything you need to know – Paving

Outdoor planning guide