How to Select Pavers for Your Project

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Introduction

You’ve looked forward to renovating the driveway or walkway or maybe looking forward to jazzing up the landscape a bit. Either way, you’ll need pavers and that’s where the confusion begins. Fortunately, you can search for “paving companies near me” and hire professionals for the job who can recommend you a few options. Let’s figure out how you can select pavers for your project.

The Choices

  1. Research contractors – Start researching your local landscaping contractors and call at least five of them and get preliminary quotes and projected timelines for the project. Ask them about past clients and referrals so that you can compare them thoroughly. You should also ask for their business licenses, worker’s compensation insurance, and liability insurance policies. Immediately strike out contractors who aren’t comfortable sharing that information.

While licenses may not be mandatory for the work, they are a mark of quality and shows you that the contractor follows industry standards. Insurance is even more important since it protects you from liability during construction work. While you compare the quotes, don’t be afraid of haggling for prices since they’re always some wiggle room. Also, inquire about their end-of-season and off-season rates.

  1. Select sustainable pavers that are suitable for your climate – While there are all kinds of pavers available in the market, all of them may not be suitable for your property and the local climate. While brick pavers look gorgeous, they tend to wear down faster than concrete pavers when exposed to wind, rain, and heat. You should only opt for brick pavers if you live in a moderate climate.

If you live somewhere with a harsh climate, stone pavers are your best bet. You can always opt for stone pavers that are machined to look like bricks. If you’re adamant about a certain type of paver and it doesn’t suit the local climate, you’ll need to work on frequent paver repairs, maintenance, and replacement within your annual household budget. Depending on the type of pavers and the extent of the damage, you may spend several thousand dollars more every year if the pavers are not suited for the local climate.

  1. Choose pavers depending on exposure – Your pavers are not going to be treated the same depending on the scope of the project. So, if you want to stretch your budget, you may choose different types of pavers depending on the level of environmental exposure. For instance, while choosing pavers for walkways and pathways that are constantly exposed to the elements, choose a sturdy material. For such areas, it’s best to stick to concrete or stone.

On the other hand, if you plan to pave a roofed patio, you can choose more delicate and pristine materials like limestone and brick. However, that’s only possible if your possible isn’t going to get a lot of traffic. If you plan to host several gatherings and parties on your patio, delicate materials won’t cut it. Either way, make sure to seal the pavers every year to extend their life.

  1. Choose pavers that would match the width of the paved area – The width of your paved space will help you identify the paver shapes that are suitable for the project. For instance, if you want to pave a narrow yard, wide pavers will look out of place. It will make the space look even smaller. Similarly, using smaller pavers for paving large areas isn’t ideal since the paver laying job would become more labor intensive and hence pricier.

If you have budget constraints and want to ease the financial burden of paving a space, it’s best to use filer materials like gravel, wood chips, or plants between large paver slabs. If you’re able to choose the right color, it would also make the space look more refined and elegant.

  1. Paver styles and shapes – Look at the overall style of your home and your yard. If there are more circles and rounded shapes, it’s best to extend that style to the pavers and choose more rounded shapes like spirals, circles, and scalloped eggs. On the other hand, if you have a very modern home with angular and sharp edges, you’re better off with square and rectangular shapes. You can also use polygonal shapes like hexagons and octagons o a combination of both. However, choosing more elaborate shapes will increase the cost of labor.
  1. Stick to muted colors if the sun is strong – The sun exposure on your yard determines more than just the hardiness of the paver you need to choose. It also determines the available color options. High sun exposure weakens materials, and those harsh ultraviolet rays also mess with bright colors and fade them away.

If you lay down pavers with bright hues on an area that gets several hours of direct sunlight every day, the pavement is going to turn dull within a few months, a couple of years at best. That’s why it’s best to select muted colors if you have high sun exposure. Shades like gray and brown would fare better. If you opt for bright colors for your pavers, you’ll need to seal the paved space more frequently to keep it from fading.

  1. Choose paver colors that complement your home – You need to make sure that the paved space sticks to the overall style and color theme of your home. If you have a home with neutral colors like white or beige, you have the luxury to choose pavers from the entire color palette. On the other hand, if your home has dominant and distinct colors like deep gray, burgundy, or jungle green, you’ll need to be careful with the color selection and may need to use tools like color wheels to come up with complementing colors.

Conclusion

Pavers are amazing for all sorts of landscaping projects, your patio, driveway, or something else. They are versatile, and robust and also offer modern drainage solutions and reduce dependence on large stormwater drains. You can search for “paving companies near me” and hire professionals for your landscaping project.

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