I’ve had several people ask me my opinion on concrete, flagstone and pavers for a patio. I thought it would be a good reference to outline it and put it up as a blog for reference. So, what’ve I’ve done is broken it down into five different categories: Cost, Durability, Usability, Resale Value, and Beauty. Hopefully, it helps you in making a decision on a patio surface.
Cost
- Concrete will be the least expensive, especially if you don’t go with any color or stamp pattern.
- It will generally run between 6-10 dollars per square foot. I’m not a concrete guy, so I can’t advise on the cost, but this is my understanding.
- Cost altering factors include…
- Excavation. If a lot of dirt or debris needs to be hauled out, it will increase the cost.
- Access. If the cement needs to be pumped in, that will increase the cost.
- Stamped or not
- Color or not
- Flagstone is generally the same or a little more than Concrete.
- It generally runs between 8-11 dollars per square foot.
- Cost altering factors include…
- Excavation. If there needs to be a lot of prep work to get the property level, that can increase the cost.
- Access. If we need to carry the stone by hand or we can bring it in by tractor that can alter the cost.
- Sand vs polymeric sand seams. If you want something planted in the seams to give the patio an “old English” look, sand is used between the seams. If you want the seams to be more like mortar, polymeric sand is used. Using polymeric sand will increase the cost.
- Border vs no border. Flagstone can be bordered to make it more into a formal path. This will increase the cost.
- Pavers are generally the most expensive patio
- It generally runs between 16-20 dollars per square foot.
- Cost altering factors include…
- Excavation. A properly installed paver patio needs a solid base. There is almost always a need to dig some dirt out.
- The type design of paver.
- The number of cuts needed will increase the cost
- Border or no border. Installing a border will increase the number of cuts and increase the waste.
- Proper installation. Installing a quality paver system will cost more than just throwing down some bricks.
Durability
- Concrete should last a very long time but it will crack.
- No matter how much it’s compacted, seamed and drained, cracks in the cement will occur.
- You can tell an old driveway from a new one, even though it’s concrete.
- Flagstone is natural stone, it will be the same for the rest of your life.
- It doesn’t crack unless something heavy damages it.
- The seams are the cracks.
- Sand seams will not age—it’s sand.
- Polymeric sand can ages like mortar, but if it’s the right stuff, it will last a very long time.
- Pavers are the most durable.
- Pavers can withstand more than twice as much pressure at concrete.
- Pavers won’t crack because each seam is a crack.
- If a paver does happen to crack, that individual paver can be replaced.
- If installed properly, there should be no settling.
- We can give a 5 year warranty on pavers!
- We are ICPI certified, so we install it properly. We can ‘t speak for other companies, but we’ve taken the certification classes, so we know how to do it right.
Usability
- Concrete is a very usable surface.
- If installed properly, concrete will give you a nice, clean, flat surface. You can put patio furniture, a b-b-q or anything else.
- Flagstone is a natural stone, so it’s not always flat.
- There’s always variation in the stone itself, and there’s no getting around it.
- The seams are wide, so that can also be uneven
- If the seam is sand, a chair leg could drop down into it (polymeric sand doesn’t have that problem).
- A Pavers patio is as usable as stamped concrete.
- Some paver surfaces are even more flat than concrete.
- Most paver seams are less ¼ inch.
Resale Value
- Any permanent structure will increase the value of the home.
- Flagstone would increase the value of a home, if it’s well maintained.
- Flagstone is more of a garden patio, so if the garden looks old and out of maintenance, the flagstone patio will look poor as well.
- Pavers, if done right, would increase the value the most.
- If the appraiser knows what he’s looking for, he’d definitely evaluate it higher than a cement pad.
Beauty
- It’s all in the eye of the beholder! But, I think a professionally installed paver patio makes a yard look amazing. If the extra cost can be justified, that is where I’d go.
I hope that’s helpful in making a decision. If you’d like to see some of the flagstone or paver jobs we’ve done, check out our “specialties” tab on our website. If you’d like an estimate, let us know and we can take care of that.
Brad Steinfeldt