Brick pavers and concrete pavers are products you can use for a landscaping project. On the other hand, concrete pavers alone are a much more recent product.
Brick
The brick’s natural color doesn’t disappear. There is a wide range of colors, ranging from gray to red. During the production process, molding and tumbling bricks will add textural value. Brick needs little maintenance other than occasional washing, but, according to Stonehenge Brick Paving & Landscaping, it may be more vulnerable to vehicle damage.
Concrete
According to Masonry Magazine, concrete pavers may be dyed, but the color will fade or even dramatically change over time if the concrete is not sealed from time to time. Otherwise, it may be necessary to remove or replace the pavers.
Cost Considerations
According to Stonehenge Brick Paving & Landscaping, brick pavers generally cost around 15 percent more, than concrete pavers. However, the concrete’s maintenance costs can be substantial over time.
The Benefits of Concrete Pavers vs Brick Pavers
It is important to know that not all pavers are equal when designing a paver project. It is especially important to understand the differences between the two when considering concrete pavers versus brick pavers, and the various advantages of choosing concrete pavers over traditional clay brick.
Paver Sizes & Shapes
Concrete pavers come in a tremendous variety of shapes and sizes –- from small 4″x8″ and 6″x6″ all that way up to 24” slabs, as well as irregular and plank shapes. Clay brick pavers typically only come in 4″x8″ sizes.
Paver Finishes & Styles
While brick pavers all have a similar face, concrete pavers are available in an endless array of finishes—including smooth finishes, the texture of natural stone, paved looks, antique tumbled looks, and more. Many concrete paver finishes include color blends, and many have unique faces with specific aggregates made.
Paver Colors
Usually, Clay brick pavers are available only in a limited number of colors or color blends. Concrete pavers, however, are available in a wide range of color blends and shades — including hot color tones, cool color tones, dark shades, and different color blends. It provides greater flexibility in design and the ability to create more organized outdoor projects. In comparison to most brick pavers, most concrete pavers also have built-in protective devices that help prevent the color from fading over time.
Consistent Paver Sizes
Concrete pavers are manufactured in a highly controlled setting, allowing for shapes and sizes in a particular style to be more standardized and consistent. This allows installation to be more efficient. When part of the firing process, brick pavers can often be bent, which can make the installation more difficult.
Coordinating Design Elements
Concrete pavers are often built to fit directly with adjacent vertical items in terms of style, texture, and color, such as retaining walls, outdoor kitchen and fireplace kits, and fire pit kits. This makes it easier to design outdoor living spaces that are organized. Despite the fact that clay bricks can be used to build vertical design elements, this is a longer, more complex process of masonry.
Paver Design Flexibility
Designs were limited to running bond, herringbone, and paver laying designs with brick pavers. Nonetheless, the development options are endless with concrete pavers. To create unique outdoor living designs, you can mix and match different shapes, sizes, finishes, and colors.
Paver Durability
Clay is quite unstable, and in freeze/thaw conditions some clay bricks are prone to cracking.
