Ingredients in Paving Stones

Brick

• Brick is one of the most common materials used to create paving stones. Made of clay and shale, brick paving stones are impermeable to water and adjust well to earth movement. Brick pavers are set with spaces between each other called joints. Joints are then packed tightly with sand to hold the brick pavers in place. Water is allowed to seem down through the sand and beneath the stones without disrupting their placement. Over time, if a brick paver cracks, it can be replaced without redoing the entire paved surface.

Concrete

• Concrete paving stones are made of cement, aggregate, pigments and dyes. One of the advantages of concrete payers is that they can be colored in a wide variety of hues and sealed to prevent the pavers from fading over time. The raw materials that comprise concrete paving stones are generally less expensive than clay and shale which makes them less expensive than brick paving stones.

Natural Stones

• Unlike the other three paving stone ingredients already mentioned, natural stones are not mixed from multiple ingredients to create paving stones. Made by mother nature, these stones are simply cut and set in place and interlocked. Spaces between stones are set with sand and sealant. Natural stones used for paving stones are cantera stone, porphyry, sandstone, limestone, flagstone, bluestone and slate.

Applications

• Paving stones are used for a variety of personal and commercial applications. Brick pavers for example, are commonly used for pedestrian walkways and vehicle driveways. Concrete paving stones are commonly used to line pools, as patio surfaces and for driveways. Natural stone pavers must be used based on their individual weight capacities. Some stones, like granite are hard enough to be used for driveways whereas others, like marble pavers are not and are therefore more suitable for pedestrian walkways and garden pathways.