Three Main Types of Patios to Consider
Patios are a marvelous landscaping feature! They’re an excellent focal point to create lasting memories with family, friends and guests, and they’re a great investment! Across the Greater Toronto Area, and Ontario, there are three main types of patios installed:
1. Paver Patios (also called interlocking or slabs).
2. Flagstone Patios (also called natural stone).
3. Stamped Concrete Patios (also called patterned concrete).
There are also different types of patios such as brick, concrete, tile, gravel, and sand, but they’re very uncommon so we will not go over them.
Paver
Patio
Flagstone
Patio
Stamped Concrete
Patio
What's the Difference Between
Paver, Flagstone, and Stamped Concrete?
Pavers:
- Ingredients: Made out of stone and cement with pigment colouring.
- How it’s Made: Cut within a factory into precise shapes, such as rectangles and squares.
- Variety: High. They have a wide-range of colours, textures, and patterns.
- Customization: Very high.
- Practicality: Very high. Can be placed anywhere on your property, but some thinner patio slab options cannot have vehicles driven or parked on them.
- Costs: Generally a low to high cost option.
- Concluding Thoughts: Lasts decades, low maintenance (the days of weeds growing between them are long over because you fill in the joints with polymeric sand which stops weed growth), it’s affordable to repair, and ranks high on aesthetics as it has a beautiful natural look with lots of variety.
Flagstone:
- Ingredients: Made out of natural stone, such as limestone or slate.
- How it’s made: Cut by a quarry into different shapes, generally rectangular and square, but also irregular and large slabs.
- Variety: The highest. Have numerous colours, textures, and patterns.
- Customization: The highest.
- Practicality: High. Perfectly suited for patios, steps, porches, and walkways.
- Cost: Generally a medium to high cost option.
- Concluding Thoughts: Lasts decades, has the lowest maintenance, it’s quite affordable to repair, and ranks the highest on aesthetics as it has the most natural look with endless variety.
Stamped Concrete:
- Ingredients: Made out of cement, then dusted with pigment colouring after application.
- How it’s made: The cement is poured onto the area of interest, rubber mats are used to imprint a pattern onto it, and incisions are made to create control joints to prevent concrete shrinkage.
- Variety: Low. Few colours, textures, and patterns.
- Customization: Minimal.
- Practicality: Could go anywhere on your property, but we most especially do not recommend stamped concrete around steps, pools and spa, and areas where people walk a lot as it gets slippery when wet (even with anti-slip sealers as they’re not fully effective).
- Cost: Generally a low to medium cost option, most likely a lower cost option than flagstone or pavers.
- Concluding Thoughts: With lower costs come potential issues! Stamped concrete patios are the most prone to issues (cracking, surface wear, slip and fall), and Ontario’s temperate cold/frosty weather increases the cracking and surface wear. There is high maintenance (re-apply sealer every 2-3 years), and the artificial appearance and the somewhat unsymmetrical cut lines is a deal-breaker for many. It can be very expensive to repair: if you have basement, drainage, foundation, erosion, or tree root problems, and your patio got in the way, you’ll most likely have to replace the entire patio or a very large piece of it and make a new patio again. (With pavers or flagstone you can quite easily remove them piece by piece and re-install them).
Which Type of Patio Should You Get?
Ultimately, it really comes down to:
- Your personal taste and how much of a custom look you want to establish.
- Your budget. (Upfront costs for installation, and budgeting for maintenance and potential repairs).
- How you wish to use your patio.
- How your patio will complement your home and landscaping features such as pools and spa, cabanas, pergolas, waterfalls, retaining walls, kitchens, and fireplaces.
We hope you perceived this blog post as informative. We write with over 25 years of experience as a company, we’ve seen and done it all, and we assure you can have confidence in our expert recommendations and analysis.
Are You Interested in Getting a Patio?
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Serving Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga, Milton, Brampton, and Etobicoke since 1993.
We only feel comfortable recommending paver and flagstone patios. We do not recommend stamped concrete. Generally as a lower cost option, stamped concrete may seem appealing at first, but it comes with numerous problems that pile up (artificial look and unsymmetrical cut lines, maintenance costs, cracking, surface wear, slippery when wet, and the potential very expensive repairs). We hope that whichever company is recommending you stamped concrete at least warns you about the problems discussed above.