The Cost of Pavers vs. Flagstone in Virginia-stone cladding

When working on a landscape design, we always try to select the material that best complements the architecture of the home, the look and feel of the space, and the goals of the people using that space. All these are important considerations, but we all have budgets; people want to know, “what’s it going to cost?”

There’s a perception that pavers are less expensive than natural stone, and that is true in most circumstances. There are a wide range of paver choices and that is the biggest variable in pricing a project. On the super low end are the pavers sold at the big box stores, but I won’t even consider specifying these. Among the “real” paver choices, the least expensive choice is usually the paver that looks most like a brick in size and shape. Techo-Bloc sells these as Atlantis and Victorien, EP Henry calls them Brick Stone and Historic Brick Stone, and many other manufacturers sell them as Holland Stone. From there, the pricing is extremely variable, with Techo-Bloc’s Monticello paver being one of the more expensive I’ve seen (but a really cool product). Ka kakaretso, patio ea boholo bo tloaelehileng kapa tsela e tsamaeang e tloha ho $ 15 ho ea ho $ 22 ka leoto le leng le le leng le kentsoeng.. If you’re doing a larger area like a driveway or very large, open patio, the price per square foot may end up a good bit lower because the base preparation can be done with larger machines in less time.

It’s worth mentioning that not all installers follow the same procedures when installing pavers. If you’ve ever seen a paver project where depressions have formed over time, that occurred because of poor base prep. I won’t go into the details of proper prep here, because the Setsi sa Konkreite sa Paving se Interlocking is considered the authority on the subject. If you’ve gotten wildly differing quotes for a project, ask them about their base prep. Everyone’s material costs will be roughly the same, so the base is often the difference.

Hoetla rosa lejoe la tlhaho mathe

What about stone? I’ve surprised some of my clients by presenting stone as a realistic option for their budget, when they’ve assumed it was out of reach. There are two styles of flagstone for typical installations. You have rectangular, pattern flagstone and then there’s irregular (aka broken) flagstone. The cleanest, most maintenance-free installation method is to pour a new concrete slab with the flagstone wet-laid with mortar. Bakeng sa lejoe la lejoe le nang le likhutlo tse 'nè, theko e kentsoeng e tloha ho $18 ho ea ho $33 ka leoto le leng le le leng. Lejoe le sa tloaelehang la folakha ke ts'ebetso ea ho kenya nako e telele kaha sepheo ke ho kopanya likotoana tse nang le li-uniform, manonyeletso a thata. Ka lebaka lena, theko e kentsoeng bakeng sa lejoe le sa tloaelehang la lejoe le tloaelehileng hangata e tloha ho $28 ho ea ho $40 ka leoto le leng le le leng.

Haeba u rata chebahalo ea lejoe empa u batla ho theko e tlase hanyane, u ka khetha sebaka sa lebala la lejoe le nang le lerōle la majoe. Motheo ke motheo o kopaneng oa majoe, o nang le lerōle la majoe bakeng sa moalo oa bethe le lerōle la majoe pakeng tsa manonyeletso a lejoe la folakha le omeletseng. Ke khothaletsa feela lejoe la lejoe le nang le sebopeho sa likhutlo li tharo bakeng sa ts'ebeliso ena, kaha likotoana tse nyane tse tsoang lejoeng le sa tloaelehang li ka tsamaea habonolo. Flagstone in dust, as it’s often called, can run from $17 to $23 per square foot.

Big disclaimer time: these prices are based on historical averages of jobs in which I’ve participated. These prices are also for a patio or walkway that is going on mostly level, even ground, without a lot of excavation or additional base material needed. Demolition of an existing walk or patio will cost more, as will adding steps, retaining walls, or other features. If you have a newer home, you will have a lot of disturbed soil around your foundation. If the patio is very close to the house, your installer may recommend digging down to undisturbed soil for best results. This is expensive, but well worth it.

Re tšepa hore mekhahlelo ena e tla u thusa bonyane ho qala ho tseba tekanyetso ea sebele ea morero oa hau. Haeba u na le lipotso kapa maikutlo, sebelisa lebokose la maikutlo kapa u nthunele lengolo-tsoibila.