Howdy! Welcome to our patio materials guide.
1. Gravel
Gravel’s the name of the game as far as affordability. It gives your patio a down home rustic charm.
In addition, some gravel materials such as Decomposed granite or Pea Gravel can be relatively easy on the foot due to their smooth texture.
But gravel does require some love in terms of maintenance. It tends to shift a lot underfoot, but a binding agent or stabilizer can remedy this. Oh, and don’t forget those sneaky weeds.
2. Cut Stone
Cut stone is a tough and low-maintenance material. It might put a dent in your pocket, but is a solid long-term investment.
The options for stone pavers are vast; from marble, limestone, slate, granite, travertine, bluestone, and sandstone, each with its fancy textures, colors, and price tags. The best part? Installing cut stone is a breeze. Just fit them together like a puzzle, on a gravel, sand, or concrete bed.
3. Flagstone
Flagstones offer a perfect blend of affordability and durability. These irregular stones give your landscape a touch of texture that is downright captivating.
However, installing flagstones takes effort and some elbow grease, so it might be a good idea to rope in the pros for this one. But it’s worth it! Flagstone can be wet-laid on mortar or dry-laid, leaving gaps between them that you can fill with sand, gravel, or ground cover plants.
But flagstones can put a dent in your wallet too.
4. Precast concrete pavers
Precast concrete pavers are a versatile patio material. They come in an array of sizes, colors, and shapes like squares, rectangles, circles, hexagons, octagons, X-shapes, you name it.
Some can be made to mimic brick, cut stone, or wood and can even be laid in interesting patterns. Others are designed to interlock making installation a breeze.
5. Clay Bricks
Clay bricks give your patio a traditional appeal that is downright inviting. They come in a range of styles and sizes and can be fitted in various patterns.
Bricks can be dry-laid on a bed of sand or decomposed granite or wet-laid on a mortar bed for extra stability.
6. Poured Concrete
Concrete patios are affordable and durable. Unlike gravel patios, concrete requires minimal maintenance and can be customized with various textures and patterns by stamping. With finishes like exposed aggregate, swirl finish, salt finish, broomed finishes, or stamped concrete, concrete patios can be designed to fit a range of styles.
Additionally, concrete can serve as a solid base for laying precast pavers, bricks, flagstones, or tiles.
7. Patio Tiles
Patio tiles are not only affordable but also a breeze to maintain. Be sure you lay those tiles on a sturdy mortar base, and you’ll be good to go.
You don’t need to be a master craftsman to install them either.
8. Sand
Sand is a budget-friendly material commonly used as a bedding material for laying precast concrete pavers, cut stones, bricks, and flagstones.
But here’s the thing, sand holds onto water, becomes slushy, and messy, and tracks indoors. It can also get messy when the elements start acting up.
In the end, the choice of patio material comes down to a few key factors: your budget, the garden style, maintenance, and of course, personal preferences.
