Home » Articles » Pavers and Hardscaping 101

• Pavers are pre-shaped building units used in hardscaping to create durable and visually appealing surfaces for outdoor spaces.
• Hardscaping refers to features in outdoor living spaces like patios, pool decks, driveways, fire pits, and retaining walls.
• Exotic Pavers can help you choose the right pavers and design features to achieve the best results for your outdoor living spaces.

If you’re looking to transform the outdoor area of your property into a functional and beautiful space, understanding the basics of hardscaping is the first step. With impressive features like patios, walkways, and pool decks, backyard hardscaping allows you to create inviting outdoor living spaces and increase the value of your property. This article covers the basics of hardscaping 101 and how you can use high-quality materials to enhance both the visual appeal and functionality of your outdoor living spaces.

Understanding Hardscaping

Hardscaping includes any man-made feature that is built with materials like brick, stone, wood, or other materials used to make pavers. While landscaping refers to natural, living elements such as garden beds, flowers, and trees, hardscaping includes features like patios, pool decks, walkways, and driveways that are usually custom-built to complement the aesthetics of a property. Here are some common examples of hardscaping:

• Patios: A patio is an outdoor extension that adjoins a structure like a house and is usually paved. It is used for activities like relaxing, dining, entertaining, and socializing. The layout options for patios are virtually endless, as this type of feature can be customized with different shapes, designs, materials, and colors. 
• Pool decks: A pool deck is the surface surrounding a swimming pool, typically made of slip-resistant hardscaping pavers designed to withstand water and prolonged sun exposure. Many homeowners create seamless outdoor living spaces by combining patios with pool decks in their hardscaping projects.
• Driveways: Driveways are popular hardscaping features that enhance outdoor living areas by creating an impressive entrance to your home and providing additional parking space. A well-designed driveway can also transition into walkways or patios, creating a unified appearance for your outdoor space. 
• Fire pits: Fire pits have become popular in recent times because they create a warm, inviting space that encourages people to relax and socialize, similar to a campfire. A hardscaping fire pit can be custom-built in various shapes with different types of pavers. They are often placed on patios or in backyards to create a welcoming atmosphere.
• Retaining walls: Retaining walls are hardscaping structures that are used to hold back soil and protect features like driveways and walkways. They can be used to create flat, level areas if you have an uneven or sloped yard, creating space for hardscaping features like patios, walkways, and pool decks.

An Overview of Different Types of Pavers

Pavers are strong, pre-shaped units designed to create stylish and functional outdoor backyard hardscaping features like patios and pool decks. They’re available in various materials, including brick, porcelain, clay, travertine, and marble. Keep reading to discover how these hardscaping pavers can enhance your outdoor living spaces.

Brick Pavers

Brick is known for its classic appearance that never seems to go out of style in any landscape. It’s also renowned for being strong and highly durable, capable of withstanding long-term weather exposure while remaining resistant to fading. The textured surface of bricks provides excellent traction, making it well-suited to outdoor features that are often wet, like pool decks. Bricks are also easy to maintain with occasional sweeping, and damaged bricks can easily be replaced individually without affecting the surrounding surface.

An aesthetically pleasing patio is an example of how brick pavers can be used for an outdoor hardscaping installation. You can use various designs, like a herringbone or running bond pattern, to create a classic patio. Circular patios are also popular as they can create a stunning focal point, particularly if the hardscaping patio is centered around a fire pit or water feature. Other aspects can be integrated to enhance functionality, such as built-in seating walls and brick walkways that lead to and from the patio.

Porcelain Pavers

Porcelain is solid and durable, making it ideal for outdoor living spaces. It’s also an aesthetically pleasing surface as it has a modern and luxurious appearance. It’s available in various finishes that resemble other materials, such as natural stone and wood. 

Porcelain pavers are manufactured in large-format options that create fewer grout lines, resulting in a more expansive, continuous visual flow in outdoor hardscaping features. This is particularly useful for making smaller patios appear larger. 

Many people choose porcelain for backyard hardscaping installations, such as extended living areas that open directly onto outdoor spaces and create an uninterrupted flow from the interior of a home to the exterior. Porcelain pavers are especially well-suited to combining extended living areas with a pool deck, as this type of material has the following qualities:

• Slip resistance: Porcelain is slip-resistant, which improves safety around a pool.
• Cool underfoot: Although no surface can be completely cool in direct sunlight, porcelain has a dense, non-porous surface that doesn’t absorb as much heat as other materials.
• Ease of maintenance: The non-porous surface of porcelain is resistant to stains, mold, and mildew, making it easy to clean and maintain.

Clay Pavers 

Clay pavers are strong, sustainable, and visually appealing, making them a sought-after material for creating high-quality hardscaping features like patios, pool decks, and driveway installations. This type of material has a warm, natural color that doesn’t fade over time, even under intense sunlight. It has a textured surface, so it provides excellent traction, making it ideal for areas like walkways and pool decks. It also offers versatile design options as it’s available in various shapes, sizes, and patterns that can be arranged in customized layouts.

Travertine Pavers 

Travertine pavers are made of natural stone, and they provide a combination of luxury and functionality that makes them ideal for elegant, durable backyard hardscaping spaces. What makes travertine pavers unique is that no two pieces are exactly the same, giving each hardscaping feature a natural appearance. It has a permeable surface that allows water to seep through instead of accumulating on top, making it particularly useful for pool decks and areas exposed to rain. 

Marble Pavers

Marble pavers are renowned for their luxurious look and are often used for upscale hardscaping spaces like patios and driveways to enhance the curb appeal of a property. They provide a strong and durable surface that can withstand pressure, making them suitable for areas like patios and driveways. Marble is also heat resistant, so it stays cool even under direct sunlight. Marble pavers have a natural variation in color, which gives hardscaping installations a unique, elegant appearance. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking to install a classic brick pool deck or a luxurious marble patio, pavers offer endless ways to transform your outdoor living spaces. Understanding the hardscaping tips discussed in this article can help you choose the right pavers and features to suit your property. Call to schedule your free estimate with Exotic Pavers today, and we’ll listen to what you want for your property and recommend the best pavers for your hardscaping project.