Stone Pavers. Pros and Cons, Paving Patterns and Styles of Paving Stones

Natural stone pavers are known to add beauty to the exterior of private and commercial buildings.  Some common floor pavers are concrete, brick, gravel, mosaic, and cement though, paving stones make the best landscaping in and around any building.

Why Use Natural Stones for Pavers?

The reason why most homeowners use natural stone pavers are because there are so many colors, textures and styles available for those who love to bring up color of pop in their outdoor landscapes. If your garden has been dull and boring for years, you can give it a nice makeover by paving stones all over the walkways and passageways. Decorate the walkways with planters, garden beds, and some colorful flower blooms, You would just love how your garden landscape will turn out to be with just stone pavers.

I am going to share some famous stone paver patterns which are used widely for landscaping in and around gardens, patio and lawns of not only commercial buildings but also private homes and apartments.

Garden and Patio Stone Pavers Patterns

If you want to pick on the design for pavers, you can use stone, concrete, bricks and mosaic pieces for constructing the following patterns:

Running Bond

This is one of the most common pattern which is created by laying pavers in a horizontal and vertical rows in the same directions. You can create classic stone, concrete, and mosaic running bond with ease by using same colors, patterns and border styles. It is so easy to use the same colored natural stones for paving the pathways and passage ways.

Herringbone Patterns

Herringbone is another of the most of all stone paving patterns that exist out there. In this designs, piece of concrete, stone, brick or mosaic are laid in zig-zag pattern which create a very edgy herringbone design. For beautifying the garden and patio landscape, some homeowners use contrasting borders alongside the herringbone pavers in order to vibrant exterior decoration. You can mix and match colors of the stones yourself if you intend to lay a stone bordering around herringbone pathway and passageway inside garden and lawn.

Basket Weave

Basket weave is another one of the most beautiful paving patterns, laid by using rectangular shaped concrete blocks, stones and sometimes granite tiles in the garden. You need only rectangular or square shaped blocks in order to create basket weave pattern, it will add modern flair in your garden and yard landscape.

Random Pavers Patterns

By using paver stones of different colors, you can create random paving patterns in your garden without ado. You can create visually appealing look by laying rectangular or square stones in repetitive orders.

More common and famous paving patterns are as follows:

• Circular Bond
• Stack Paving Pattern
• Flagstone
• Cobblestone
• Stretcher bond
• Pencil Line In Lay
• Half Diamond Inlay

Harmony Of Color In Landscape

Though bricks and concrete make for good pavers in garden and patios, but they are nothing in comparison to stone pavers, because they do add very harmonious touch to the exterior. When you combine stone with good borders, you get good pathways in patios. For bigger patios, you can use decorative elements to amplify the beauty of the landscape without spending much money.

Pros and Cons of Stone Pavers

There are several pros and cons of laying stone floors, pathways and walkways in your garden or patio. Let’s discuss some of these.

Pros and advantages of Paving Stones

Stones are really durable if you choose the best quality. They come in different colors and textures to lend a magnificent beauty to your outdoor space.

In most cases, you can mix colors and make contrasts with stone pavers, you will never have to go to extra length to create harmony and balance in colors because when you shop for the stones you get an idea which one would be suitable for exterior decor.

They do not require to be maintenance. In order to say in good condition, they require very little yearly maintenance and no maintenance at all.

Stone pavers are used in masonry world, they are strong enough to handle heavy food traffic for years.

They resist moisture and heat. Under even harsh weather conditions they keep their beauty for years to come.

They can be laid over existing brick, concrete and cement pavers without discomfort.

They add value and curb appeal to the property. If your budget is low for garden, patio and lawn landscaping, you can still afford to get stone pavers laid in outdoor space because they are affordable.

Since stones come in various tones, colors and textures, they would add beauty to garden aesthetics thereby adding colors to accent the beauty your patio, lawn and garden.

Stone pavers are naturally sustainable building materials loved by many for their ability to resist pollution and carbon footprint.

They are naturally beautiful, they can be used for paving paths alongside outdoor swimming pool, ponds, and hot bathtubs as well alongside traditional style patio landscaping.

Stone pavers can be installed on the driveways because they can take any type of foot and vehicle traffic greatly for being sustainable . However, you would need to pick stones with thick density in order to lay drive-ways in and outside your property. Stones definitely make excellent driveway pavers due to their natural colors and textures.

Cons or Disadvantages of Paving Stones

Though they are good for masonry building projects, architectural landscapes and outdoor projects yet they have some drawbacks as well.

Natural stone pavers are very porous, in some cases moisture may lock in their grooves and nooks. They do absorb liquids, that is why it is very important to seal pathways perfectly when you have stone floors.

They are natural in color unlike concrete which are unnaturally pigmented using colors through chemical procedures, so stones are more likely to retain stains, water marks and spots.

In most cases stones can tolerate harsh weather conditions but in winter time they tend to crack as the water seeps into the pavers, making them susceptible to tear and wear. To protect the beauty of stones, you must use protective sealing to keep your garden landscape from tear and wear during bad weather situations.