We're building an outdoor covered patio and the contractor says that pavers/concrete slab runs about the same price. I like the idea of a slab because it seems easier to clean, my wife likes the pavers. It's 12'x24'. What's the hive say?
We're building an outdoor covered patio and the contractor says that pavers/concrete slab runs about the same price. I like the idea of a slab because it seems easier to clean, my wife likes the pavers. It's 12'x24'. What's the hive say?
Slab. Definitely slab.
Even if you don't have the risk of the pavers sinking into the ground where you live like I do, you won't have to deal with weeding between them, which sucks, and no amount of gravel or anti weed growing fabric will stop it. And while lawn mowing over them may seem like a good idea, just raise the deck and mow the weeds, it will eventually hurt the mower.
Of course if I could, my whole 2 acres would be concrete slabs, so maybe I'm biased a bit.
Slab. Get fancy and have it polished/stained to look like pavers, but slab all the way.
Weeds come through pavers. My dads paver-porch was actually "stolen". Don't think that's a normal occurrence though, unless the house was foreclosed on before you buy it.
I think Margie might be the best person to ask
Quoting this out at the house as we speak for a 9x16. Kicking around the dyed stamped stuff. Looks like it's only a few bucks more per square ft than basic concrete.
I was gonna do pavers but I've got more drop end to end than I'm comfortable with for pavers. The maint for pavers is much worse from paat experience despite liking the look more.
Might check with Margie as well...
Another vote for slab - stamped/stained. Pavers start out nice but shift and heave and grass/weeds get between them.
Concrete slab for sure. My very old slab patio is cracked but still solid, it has definitely held up better than pavers would.
I'd go pavers. When they shift, you can lift them up and reset them. When the ground under concrete shifts, the concrete cracks.
To be clear this is a covered patio that ties into the roof of the house. Something like this but not a deck: 
My plan was to eventually tile it so it looks a little nicer. Also I live in Florida so freeze/ice isn't an issue but rain could be.
Also why is Margie the pro at this?
Pavers allow grass to grow between them, they move with the frost and require a tamped solid base, that's why I would do a slab.
{Allegedly!] Margie has a patio of GRM posters that did bad things here but we all know that flesh and bones aren't as stoic as cinder block base. [Allegedly!]
I just finished a 14x24 paver patio, and concrete probably would have been cheaper in materials.
If you are attaching to the house you may want to dig down next to the house at the ends so you can put a couple pilings in for the new slab to let it rest on the footings. It's easier, cheaper, and more reliable than trying to actually attach a slab to the side of the house.
Stamped Concrete Slab Gives the looks of pavers with the maintenance of the slab.
oldtin wrote: Another vote for slab - stamped/stained. Pavers start out nice but shift and heave and grass/weeds get between them.
This exactly. If you want to get fancy have it stamped.
slab all the way, particularly since you're down south. The cover will limit the grass and weed growth but not eliminate it, plus those cracks house ants and other bugs that are a constant fight. With a slab, consider access for termite treatment in the future. I've seen poured patios here in mid-ga with access ports along the side that butts the house.
Stamped concrete slab. Thick. If it ties into the house I'd want it as solid as possible so it never settles and pulls away from the house.
Then add a Max Jax, air, and a stereo.
mad_machine wrote: I think Margie might be the best person to ask
ppppffffttt. Margie knows a slab is better.
Damn you people and your inside jokes with Margie! I cant tell what the heck is going on here!
Enyar wrote: Damn you people and your inside jokes with Margie! I cant tell what the heck is going on here!
One time, there was some disagreeable posters on here at the same time that Margie & Tim were pouring a new patio. The disagreeable people were banished, so the joke became that they're now a permanent fixture.
WonkoTheSane wrote:Enyar wrote: Damn you people and your inside jokes with Margie! I cant tell what the heck is going on here!One time, there was some disagreeable posters on here at the same time that Margie & Tim were pouring a new patio. The disagreeable people were banished, so the joke became that they're now a permanent fixture.
and that said patio has to be about the size of a small parking lot now
oldopelguy wrote: I just finished a 14x24 paver patio, and concrete probably would have been cheaper in materials. If you are attaching to the house you may want to dig down next to the house at the ends so you can put a couple pilings in for the new slab to let it rest on the footings. It's easier, cheaper, and more reliable than trying to actually attach a slab to the side of the house.
Got pictures? Why did you go with pavers?
Keith Tanner wrote: I'd go pavers. When they shift, you can lift them up and reset them. When the ground under concrete shifts, the concrete cracks.
I should mention that I did pavers for our patio - and my wife works for a company that sells concrete 
My original plan was to dig it down 12' or so and add a subterranean room that extended my garage by two parking spaces - we're built into a hill. She told me this was not allowed, even if I could borrow an excavator from her work. Spoilsport. But in that case, I would have used concrete.
Keith Tanner wrote: I'd go pavers. When they shift, you can lift them up and reset them. When the ground under concrete shifts, the concrete cracks.
Since you're the one dissenting viewpoint, and I know you have experience with it (or knowledge via your wife), wouldn't having multiple joints effectively mitigate this risk? My parents, when they did their driveway (aggregate), had the guy pouring the concrete put in about twice the joints that he was planning on. About 20 years later, still not a crack anywhere on the whole thing.
Joints are just pre-installed cracks that you hope line up with the stress lines. If you've got a good base and enough joints, you should be okay.
Janel has said that she'd use concrete for a driveway, probably because of the way that asphalt and pavers tend to shift under the compaction from vehicles. But that's not the same as a patio, which is more likely to move because of water underneath or poor prep.
Pavers cost me a back surgery, so I'm voting slab. That said, our pavers have held up pretty well over the course of about 10 years.
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