Patios- Pavers Vs. Stamped Concrete

stamped concrete will be slippery when wet, where pavers will not be. So if it is near a pool or near where kids will play in a sprinkler or a kiddy pool you need to be very careful.

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Hi! We just built a house, and put in stained/stamped concrete in the front. While it looked great last summer, after ONE winter it has chipped, cracked, and pitted. Even the "glaze" has cracks, and now looks terrible. We were told it happened because it gets cold here, plus shoveling snow, ice, etc. So... I wouldn't recommend concrete in Michigan! I think pavers look great, plus I think they're less expensive, anyway! Good luck with whatever you decide!

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We also are in a new build and have been getting quotes these last two weeks from tons of different people. I'm surprised at the number of people who recommend the concrete. For a 400 sq. foot patio, we were looking at a savings of 800 for concrete over pavers. Not too shabby but not like a HUGE savings either. Every builder I have spoken to has recommended the brick pavers. Personally I like the versatility of the concrete better, i.e. color, shape, design/texture, etc. But I fear it cracking, fading, chipping, etc. And if we ever got rid of it, it would be very costly to remove (labor/garbage). There is a new sealant out there for brick pavers that stops weeds (we've been told) and if they are laid right there is very little maintanence. About the same as you'd have with the concrete with power washing and sealing.

We both decided that for the little extra money we'll go with the brick pavers. Good luck with your decision!

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We actually have one of each and I'd not go with pavers again now that I've seen how nice the stamped concrete can be!

We used a dyed concrete and then had it stained with a powder stain after it had been poured but was still wet. My only complaint is that over the years (it's been 8 years now) the color has faded a bit, aside from that, it still looks good. Takes a garden hose and a broom to clean it off- no other maintenance.

The pavers, on the other hand don't seem as level as they once were, grows moss between the bricks, which I hate! and we're always adding more sand between them to make it look nice.

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My son's company has installed pavers and stamped concrete. Pavers are more expensive because they are labor intensive; requires seasonal upkeep for weed control. Stamped concrete is a faster, cheaper process. Looks quite attractive depending upon the pattern you choose. It can also be tinted before it is poured. Stamped concrete has a long longevitiy as does pavers. I had pavers which looked unique but required weed control. My stamped concrete is pretty. I have it leading up to my porch.

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HI J...

We have stamped. Got it about 5 years ago. NO CRACKS. We do have to seal it every year, over other year to keep that wet look. But I love it! Neat design and color. we picked the same and size. Resonable price, WAY CHEAPER than pavers, which need to be sealed as well.

GOOD LUCK!

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We were going to get stamped concrete, but visited cousins with it and it is VERY slippery once sealed -- which is not good for little feet! After hearing the issues they have had with slipperiness we're taking a different approach, but haven't figured out what yet. I would just say if you're thinking about getting stamped concrete make sure you test it first to see if it's slippery. Maybe ask around or visit friends with it and see what their experience has been.

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We have had colored/stained stamped concrete patio for 7 years now and we LOVE it. Not only does it look beautiful (we have a random stone pattern…whole patio is dark grey with random stones colored in mustard, brick red and a rusty orange), but it is such low, low maintenance. Just hose it off and you are good to go. We do scrub with a large broom and soap for a nice clean. It does get slippery when wet, but it dry's fast or you can use the leaf blower to blow the water off (we have done this). This certainly would not stop me from getting the stamped concrete. Like someone else said, we have noticed some fading in the staining, but I am going to call around and see if someone can come out and re-stain the random stones. You can power wash and seal every couple years to preserve color and give it that extra shine for the summer. I have NOTHING bad to say about the decision we made.

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I would choose stamped concrete! Our old house we had a covered patio with concrete floor. Easy to clean. Our new home has a brick paver patio and the previous owners did not keep it up. There is a ton of moss growing in the cracks and its always fells "dirty". From what I have been told if you have it professionally done either way it's about the same price. I am dreeding using the pressure washer to clean all that out and the mess to follow when have to put down all the sand to fill in the cracks again and again......uggh!!
T. K.

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We have some of both. It depends on how permanent you want your decision to be. We have a stamped concrete walkway to the from of our house. No maintenance and more permanent. However in the back patio area we have pavers. While we use Roundup to clean up the weeds each spring, they are not permanent and we have moved them to accomodate our growing kids and needs. For example we had a play yard and now that they are preteens it is more of an outside living room. We could adjust that with the pavers. Just a thought.

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My parents have the pavers and my sister/husband have the stamped concrete. I don't know which is cheaper, though. The stamped concrete is nice because you can tint it to whatever color you want and make the fake cracks a different color to make it look more real. It's done in one day and you put a sealer on it to make it last. With pavers, they sometimes shift, but it's easier to replace one at a time.
We also moved into a house with no landscaping and are slowly making it our own. We have an ugly plain, white concrete patio and are eventually going to do the stamped concrete over it. Good luck with whatever you do!

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we have pavers and you do have to pick out the weeds in the cracks.. quite a pain.. last year we paid a friend to reset all the brick pavers... pick them all up.... put down landscaping fabric adn sand.. and then reset them again evenly..

pavers require maintenance.. I would get the concrete..

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I have stamped concrete patio and i love it. There are 2 things you should think about with it though. 1. It gets very hot on barefeet, 2. when wet it is slippery
Once used to those things it is great no maintenance i wouldn't change it for anything

Good luck

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Hi J.,

Looks like you got a few great responses but I thought I would add my 2 cents...lol 3 yrs ago we tore down our deck and got several quotes for both. We decided to go with the poured concrete, then had it stamped. It was cheaper and less maintanince. It still looks great and we can add an addition to it if we wanted to. The company we used did a great job, because they were the only ones that came up with a great idea with an obstacle we had around a basement window, they used a window well and none of the only company's knew they existed. The only thing with the company is they were not very professional, swore alot, but did a great job for a little less money. Alos someone mentioned stamped being slippery. It was a first, but after a couple of washes and rains it is much better. If you need more info or would like to take a look at it, please give me an email depending where you live you could come and take a peek. Also our neighbors went with poured cement and they really liked their crew, I could get their name as well.

Good luck,
S. S.

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We are putting in a stamped concrete patio currently. We chose that based on looks and regular upkeep. You do have to reseal stamped concrete every 2-3 years but it's a do-it-yourself job. If you have more questions about the company and/or costs, send me an email through mamasource.

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J.,
We looked into stamped concrete last fall but went with a patio cement slab instead. Depending on how thick you make it, you could use it in the future for a foundation for an addition like a sunroom. You can also stain the concrete yourself which would be much more cost effective and you could pick your own color. Are you planning on living there a while, or is this a starter home for you? If it's a starter, I'd stick with the cement and save the $'s for a home that you are going to finish with. Good luck. We used RAM Construction and were very pleased with our results!
E.

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Last summer, we needed to replace our front porch and back patio. Plus we wanted to widen our driveway by about 4 feet. At the time, our front porch was a brick base with a poured cement top and it was falling apart. Our patio which was 30 years old at the time was multiple cement slabs with long pieces of wood between the slabs. The slabs were all uneven at the time which made it a hazard to our kids.

We got a number of bids breaking things down to the level of porch only, patio only, both porch and patio, porch and driveway, the whole thing, etc. We looked at all pavers, all concrete, and various mixes of both. I don't remember exact numbers, but for what it would have cost to replace just our patio with pavers, we were able to do the following:

replace the front porch with a brick base and poured concrete top

replace the front walkway, the driveway from the garage to the sidewalk widening it the 4 feet, and the walkway from the drive around to the back patio with poured concrete

replace the back patio with a poured concrete patio with a stamped and stained 1 foot border around the edge and a 6 foot wide step to the back door that has a brick base with a limestone top

I am very happy with the look of just the border being stamped and stained. It's not as fancy looking as pavers, but I think it looks nicer than just the poured concrete. We did notice that the border can get pretty slippery when it's wet which made us glad that we didn't do that with the entire patio. Our patio is fairly large and the kids love that they can ride their bikes on it and it's a perfect canvas for sidewalk chalk.

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stamped concrete for sure!! We had ours done last fall and it looks awesome, I'll send u a pic if you want? To get some ideas :)