Bricks or mortar?

Pavers are an attractive alternative to concrete-slab patios and driveways

Pervious concrete is made using carefully controlled amounts of water and cement to form a paste that thickly coats agregate particles and binds them together but leaves voids that let water seep through into the ground.
Pervious concrete is made using carefully controlled amounts of water and cement to form a paste that thickly coats agregate particles and binds them together but leaves voids that let water seep through into the ground.

— Concrete walkways, patios and driveways can be beautiful and inexpensive - but for those worried about the environmental impact of their hard-scaping, there are paver options that retain much of the utility and beauty of traditional poured concrete.

"The pavers, for a homeowner, can really make one home look totally different from another one," said John Hendricks, owner of Grey Barn, a landscape contracting firm in Fayetteville.

Pavers, or pre-cast forms, are crafted into a variety of shapes and sizes using materials such as concrete, clay, recycled bricks, plastics or rubber. Concrete and clay pavers can also come in porous or permeable forms. This means water from rain or sprinklers can soak into the ground rather than becoming runoff carrying pollutants into storm sewers and waterways.

Pavers are inherently better for the environment, says Mark Piepkorn, an associate editor of Green Building Products, a residential guide available at bookstores.

While he advises avoiding all hard-scapes if possible, pavers are a better alternative to poured concrete slabs because they are reusable and last longer, he said.

Hendricks agrees.

"The standard paver that is typically used in residential or commercial construction is just a concrete product, with different shapes, colors and textures," he said. "That is a good product. We can guarantee that it is not going to crack."

Concrete slabs, when they start to crack - and they will, the experts say - can't be repaired and instead will be broken apart, removed and thrown away in order to pour a new slab. Pavers not only cut down on such waste, but they also provide a better long-term investment.

For instance, "if a customer wanted to add on," Hendricks said, "they'll be able to purchase more pavers rather than chopping up the concrete" to pour a smooth transition between the old slab and the addition.

Pavers also provide a wide range of design opportunities, from elegant circles and patterns reminiscent of European gardens to incorporating company logos and family initials into the layout, he said.

"The sky's the limit with colors and patterns," Hendricks said.

Homeowners have a wide selection of pavers at their fingertips - or scraped knuckles, if doing the project themselves.

Concrete pavers offer the most design flexibility, and they tend to be the cheapest. BuildingGreen, LLC, a company that provides information to builders and publishes the Green Building Products Directory, says homeowners seeking to lessen their environmental impact should look for concrete pavers with recycled content, such as fly ash, a byproduct of coal- and oil-burning furnaces.

COLOR CHANGES

One downside to concrete pavers is their inability to hold color over long periods of time, said Bryce Switzer, manager of the Acme Brick Co. on Maumelle Boulevard in North Little Rock.

"You'll see ones that started out red, but are now more pink," Switzer said. "They're still nice looking pavers."

Switzer said clay pavers have the advantage of holding their color much longer than concrete pavers. And "from an environmental standpoint, I would like to think clay is more green," Switzer said. "But I don't have any documentation to prove it."

Clay pavers will, however, limit the type of designs homeowners can create because they tend to come in only one size and shape: a rectangle 4 inches wide by 8 inches long, Switzer said.

Pavers can be found that are made out of recycled plastics and rubber, too. There are also turf-paver options that allow homeowners to retain the look of a green lawn, but still park a boat or camper on it without tearing up the ground.

Of all the options, however, Piepkorn recommends recycled brick pavers.

"They're gorgeous," he said. "And they've already had a life and you're keeping them out of landfill."

POROUS PAVING

When browsing for pavers, homeowners will run across options labeled "porous" or "permeable," which allow water to run through the pavers into the ground rather than into the street or other drainage areas.

While good options, experts say, porous materials provide the most benefit when used for large projects.

"When talking about a small residential area, it's not as big of a deal," Piepkorn said, adding that the cracks between standard pavers serve as an adequate path for water to filter into the ground.

Some porous options will, however, allow plants to grow through while still providing a durable surface. This might be of value to a homeowner who wants the strength of the paver and a green look.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Homeowners taking on paving projects will need to consider several factors when selecting pavers. Aside from aesthetics, size and thickness will also be important to a successful project. When approaching a retailer, be prepared to answer detailed questions about your plans.

"You would want to know what the application is, whether it's under a roof or exposed, whether it's designed for pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and you'll also want to know your external limitations," Switzer said, adding that the square footage of the project, as well as whether it butts up against a house or other man-made structure, could also influence the choice of paver.

It is also important to know what type of soil or surface - called the base material - the pavers will rest on.

"The key to any successful paver project is to make sure that your drainage is properly figured," Switzer said.

Hendricks added that the durability and longevity of the pavers increase when the base material has been properly layered and compacted. When that doesn't occur, the pavers could settle unevenly and create a wavy effect.

When hired for such a job, "we're going to excavate the soil underneath," he said, and add road base, compacting it into two 2-inch layers for pedestrian traffic. More layers would be added for vehicular traffic - on driveways, for instance.

He said that when considering doing the project on their own, homeowners will need to consider their own capabilities.

"Know your limitations," he said. "Are you physically up to it? : You can be pretty sore in the end."

That said, "I think a homeowner can do a small patio pretty easily," he said, adding that such a job will probably take two to three weekends.

Coming next week Summertime heat can make us long to plunge in a cool pool of our own, and now's the time to consider what's possible (maintenance and all) for next year's torrid times.

HomeStyle, Pages 33, 38 on 08/22/2009

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