Styles & Colors of Thin Pavers

Pavers Are Concrete

• Thin pavers are made like standard concrete block pavers, with cement, sand and some form of rock aggregate. Some offer more variety than standard blocks, however; specialties such as using granite for the aggregate rather than the traditional limestone are available. This gives the pavers a distinctive appearance and a harder finish, since granite is a much harder rock than limestone. Some types of thin paver are cut from rock. Thin concrete pavers are less open and porous than regular concrete.

Varied Sizes and Styles

• Sizes and styles of thin pavers vary. There is the standard four-by-eight-inch rectangle common in regular concrete pavers, but also rectangles and squares 6 1/4 by 6 1/4 or 6 1/4 by 9 3/8, designed so they can fit together in patterns. Other variations are trio, based on a 5 7/8-inch square, with doubles at 5 7/8 by 9 7/8 or halves at 5 7/8 by 2 7/8; or one based on a 10-inch square, with halves at five by 10 inches and quarters at five by five inches.

No Interlocking

• Thin pavers don't come with interlocking joints like some standard concrete versions, but there are specialty types that match in different ways. A bishop's hat, for instance, is shaped like a baseball home plate, with one side 11 inches wide and triangle sides eight inches that can mate with eight-by-eight-inch squares. All thin pavers have "coped" edges, which are slightly rounded rather than the sharp sides of standard concrete pavers.

Colors Many and Varied

• Color selection is wide and varied in thin pavers, from a white to a charcoal, with various creams, sandstone, terracotta, reds, pinks and gray mixed in. Some thin pavers are solid colors; others are variegated for a more stone-like look. Some pavers are made with mixed shades, with various tones of gray or brown or red mingled in the same paver. Colors can be uniform throughout the project or mixed, randomly or in a pattern.

Install Over Concrete

• Install thin pavers over any existing concrete surface, from a driveway to a sidewalk to a pool deck. They are designed to cover a concrete surface that has become rough, stained or unattractive. The existing concrete must be solid and not cracked or broken; any bad surface must be repaired before pavers are installed. Lay thin pavers in mortar to bond to the concrete. Seal joints with cement rather than sand, swept into the gaps and sealed by dampening with water.