Paving designs for driveways, paths and patios

Laying a new driveway or patio can be done in a number of ways including brick pavers, flagstone slabs, concrete, asphalt and gravel. Lets look at the paving design options for each of these surfaces:

Brick Pavers or block paving are small brick sized blocks usually made out of concrete. The most popular paving design is herringbone which has the bricks laid at a 45 degree angle to the house. Square shaped surfaces may lower costs by using a 90 degree angle instead to lower the amount of cuts around borders.

Cobble type brick pavers are usually laid in 3 or more sizes. They are laid in rows across the driveway and this gives a nice random cobble stone effect. These blocks can also be laid in a random pattern for a more detailed appearance. This is a good idea on a patio. All brick paved driveway and patio designs have a block border to finish the edges nicely.

Flagstone slabs are made from concrete or natural stone. Cheaper paving designs with flagstone slabs will just use one size of concrete pavers. The design is usually to lay them in rows with staggered joints. Laying slabs corner to corner doesn't look as good and isn't as strong.

Decorative flagstone slabs are made from attractive concrete in all colors and finishes or from any type of natural stone. These are usually laid in three or more sizes in a random paving design. This gives an excellent look for a patio, but these decorative flagstones are usually only suitable for driveways with an extra strong foundation.

Flagstone paving designs can be made more attractive with similar brick pavers as a border. Bricks can also be used to create features around plants, doors and across the entrance. They can also be used to replace the occasional flagstone. Circle kits and other shapes can often be bought to match paving slabs and create an attractive feature.

Concrete can be laid as a straight forward gray surface but it doesn't look great. Pattern imprinted concrete is far more attractive and popular now. Concrete designs are endless because stencils are used on the wet surface before it dries. Color dies are then applied in many different shades. Concrete designs are very versatile, some contractors will mix designs together to make unique surfaces.

Asphalt designs are simple. Black asphalt is the most common surface (black top), many people also like red asphalt too. Red is very dark and looks nice with charcoal brick pavers as a border. Adding a brick paved circle kit can really break up a boring asphalt driveway too.

Gravel, like asphalt is quite a plain surface. It is a good idea to add a path in flagstones as an area to walk and push anything with wheels on. Gravel (or shingle) comes in many colors, you can even create your own design by mixing different colors. If mixing colors be sure to use the same type and size of stones so they mix properly and look right. Gravel can be messy when cars drag bits onto the road or bits get on the lawn, so it is a good idea to use brick pavers or flagstones to hold in the edges and create nice paving designs.