P atios are one of the best outdoor spaces for your family to gather outdoors. They are less expensive to build than decks, and any size patio will add value to your home. When you build a patio, you can extend your living space and add a beautiful feature to your backyard.
Choosing the right type of material for your patio is a matter of finding the most durable products that look great. Here are the five most durable patio materials for your home.
Concrete
Concrete is the most durable patio material and one of the least expensive options. A concrete patio can last 30 to 50 years when properly built and maintained.
Some people like the look of a smooth concrete surface. However, there is unlimited design potential with concrete. Even if you pour a plain flat concrete slab, you still have several ways to dress up your patio.
When a concrete contractor in Cass County, IN, installs your patio, you can enjoy a low-maintenance outdoor area for many years. Having your patio installed by a professional ensures a smooth, quality finish that will withstand the freeze and thaw cycles that affect concrete.
If concrete seems boring to you, keep in mind that it is a clean slate for design. Consider a few of the following ideas because concrete can create a timeless look for your home, whether it’s a small patio in the backyard or an expansive project surrounding your pool.
- Use contrasting tones– concrete can be dyed, stamped, and inlaid with stones to create different tones. Use tones that match the exterior of your home for the best effect.
- Add greenery– create spaces for plants, water features, and patches of grass in your design to break up the monotony of large concrete spaces.
- Create contrast– when you add other design elements that contrast with the cold, hardness of concrete, the result can be striking. For example, consider brightly colored furniture and outdoor rugs, or use wood and wicker tones that create a nice contrast.
Concrete can be paired with other materials, too. When choosing durable materials for your patio, consider using more than one.
Flagstone
Flagstone occurs in different colors depending on the region it was quarried in. It is a beautiful natural product that can look fabulous for at least ten years.
Flagstone is a sedimentary rock that can be shale, slate, or sandstone. It naturally occurs in different hues, like blues, grays, browns, and gold. Since it’s less expensive to use flagstone readily available in your area, you will see many homes with the same color tones, but high-quality flagstone is shipped all around the country.
While it is durable for a patio, flagstone can split and crack over time and requires good drainage.
Pavers
Pavers are popular for DIYers. Your paver patio should last a lifetime if you use quality pavers and create a deep drainage base. Over the life of your patio, you can repair sections if necessary instead of replacing all of them.
One main disadvantage of pavers is that weeds and moss grow in the cracks. It’s critical to keep the patio weed free so that the roots of weeds don’t get into the cracks and cause them to become uneven. Lichen will also grow on your patio pavers over time, too, if they aren’t regularly cleaned.
Sinking pavers, due to an inadequately drained base, and fading colors are other disadvantages to using pavers.
Gravel
Gravel can be installed quickly, easily, and cheaply, compared to many other materials. Use landscaping fabric and river rock or crushed stone for a fast patio surface that drains well and will last a long time.
Gravel is hard to walk on, especially barefoot, but you can add stepping stones or pavers for a path. Gravel is also an excellent material to pair with other materials for contrasting texture and color. You can get gravel in almost any color to create many different designs.
Crushed gravel tends to settle and shift less than round rock. You can combine both to achieve the best result. It’s also easy to create space for plants in a gravel patio.
Bricks
Bricks are another DIY-friendly material. They come in many different colors and shapes. A brick patio should last several decades, and brick keeps its color better than pavers, making it a popular choice.
One advantage of brick is that it is easy to replace a single cracked brick. Bricks cost slightly more than concrete pavers, but they are less likely to be stained and easier to maintain than pavers.
Create Your Unique Patio
Choose from one or more durable materials to create a unique patio. The space in your yard that you’ve chosen to create an outdoor living space is full of possibilities. Choose a durable patio material to build a patio that will bring you a lifetime full of joy.
