Paving stones are wonderful way to enhance the beauty of your home. Fairly easy to install yourself, there are a rich variety of styles and textures you can choose from. The first choice you must make is whether you want to use natural materials or manmade stones. While the process of installing them is similar, each has their own advantages.

Natural paving stones are available in several shades of slate and are normally called flagstone. Cut from a flat slab in varying thicknesses, flagstone has all the advantages and disadvantages of a natural product. The stone can chip and break more easily than manmade versions and has different hues from block to block. Some people see that variety as part of the beauty of a natural product, others find it annoying.

Concrete paving stones, commonly called pavers, are available in dozens of colors. More rugged than brick and designed to be entirely consistent in size and color, these stones make installation easy and predictable. There are many different shapes available and all are designed to interlock in order to make a smooth, uniform surface. By mixing a number of complementary colors you get a very sophisticated appearance. Extremely strong and durable, paving stones can be used to create paths, driveways and even retaining walls. When pavers get stains you simply flip them over, and if they crack or chip it is easy to find a replacement.

To determine how many paving stones you will need, figure out your square footage first. Purchase a sufficient number of stones to cover your area and at least some extras for breaking and fitting into odd corners and turns. For particularly large areas you can consider installing paving slabs. These larger versions of paving stones are specifically designed to handle bigger projects. Larger stones reduce the number of stones you need to set.

Preparation is critical to installation. You must consider which underlying material you will use. Sand is the most common material, but without borders the sand my try to run out from under the pavers in bad weather. With proper borders though, the rain will seep through the sand rather than staying on top of your paving stones. Gravel won’t move as much, but can be rough on your feet. Concrete will keep your pavers in place, but over time can crack and look worn.

Once you have the underlying material lain you get to chose what kind of pattern you wish to achieve. Pavers can be bought in different colors if you want to create something with visual texture. You can use pavers to create any number of designs as well. How you lay your pavers will determine how they appear. Since most pavers are molded with ridges to keep them the proper distance apart, you need only lay your pavers one against the other to ensure ideal spacing. These gaps will later be filled with more of your underlying material and compacted.

Paving stones are a wonderful way to add interest to your yard and home. Durable, colorful and reliable, paving stones are a beautiful addition to any landscape plan.

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