"Everyone we know with pavers complains constantly about weeds and shifting." That's from a homeowner trying to choose between a paver patio and a concrete one, and the replies split right down the middle. Somebody else in the same thread said their concrete patio was 20 years old and their neighbor's pavers, put in the same year, had "chronic issues with lifting." So which is it?
I'd say both, honestly. On the clay under Allen, Plano and Dallas, both work and both fail, and they mostly fail for the same reason.
What goes wrong with each
Concrete cracks. Nobody who pours it will promise you it won't. "The only thing guaranteed about concrete is that it'll crack," one person put it, and when it does, you're patching a slab or replacing a section that won't quite match the rest.
Pavers shift. They don't crack the way a slab does, because they're separate pieces that can flex a little. But when the base under them is thin, or water gets underneath, they sink and rock. "If it's sinking that much in less than 2 years, your base is messed up." If yours is already doing that, here's why pavers shift after a year and what to check first.
Around here that's the whole story. Our clay swells after a big storm and shrinks and cracks in a dry August. A concrete slab on clay that wasn't compacted will crack along the weak line. Pavers on a thin bed of sand will follow the clay up and down. Either way, the ground underneath is what decides how long it lasts.
What each one costs
Concrete usually costs less up front. A McKinney concrete pro put a standard broom-finish concrete driveway at "between $10 and $18 per square foot." Pavers usually cost more. One DFW homeowner on expansive clay was quoted about $14.44 a square foot for a paver patio, and Texas homeowners report paver prices from around $8 up to $30 a foot depending on the stone and how much base work goes in.
Stamped concrete sits in the middle. It commonly runs "25 to 100 percent more than a basic poured slab," and it needs resealing every 2 to 3 years to keep its color.
What each one costs later
People don't price this part, and they should.
Plain concrete asks almost nothing of you until it cracks. Then you're looking at a patch you can see, or a new section.
Stamped concrete wants resealing every few years, at roughly $1 to $3 a square foot. Skip it and the color fades.
Pavers need the joint sand topped up and the odd weed pulled, and once in a while a sunken section lifted so the base under it can be fixed. You put the same pavers back, which is the part I like.
Which one to choose
Choose plain concrete if you want the lowest price and the least to think about, and you can live with a crack someday.
Stamped concrete makes sense if you want the look of stone without the joints and don't mind resealing. If it's going around a pool, ask for a sealer that isn't high-gloss and a grip additive, because stamped concrete can get slick when it's wet.
Pavers are the pick if you like the idea that a problem gets fixed one piece at a time. That only holds if the base is right, though. Ask for at least 4 inches of compacted crushed stone under a patio, more under a driveway, an edge restraint, and a slope away from the house. Here's what to ask before anyone digs: paver patios.
Ask about the base, whatever you pick
What's going underneath, how deep, and how is it packed down? A great paver on a bad base sinks. A good slab on a bad base cracks. You'll look at the material every day, but it's the base that decides whether you still like it in five years.
If you're weighing the two for your own yard, call (469) 283-6279 and we'll connect you with a paver and hardscape pro serving Allen. For concrete, press 2 when you call.