Best Patio Materials
Flowers are blooming, temperatures are beautiful, and summer is right around the corner—it’s that time of year again! Have you been thinking about installing a new patio or upgrading your old, small patio? It’s a great time to do so, and if you live in Montgomery, Howard, or Frederick County, Maryland, Four Seasons has all your patio design and installation needs covered.
Patios are the bread and butter of our landscape company. Most of our projects are based off of some type of hardscaping, whether it is a patio, walkway, pool deck, or driveway—many times, it’s a patio. As a client, choosing what material to use for your patio can be a hard decision.
Materials for Patios
Here is what we offer and why we think they are the best options.
Concrete Paver Patios: Interlocking concrete pavers are the most common material for patios. They gained a bad reputation in the 1990s due to improper installation and many prospective clients commonly complain about settling and weeds in the joints—but both of these are avoidable. Proper compaction will prevent settling, and the use of polymeric sand will prevent weeds from sprouting up in the joints.
Paver options have come a long way. There are so many now, ranging from a simple brick look to those that mimic authentic stone. The color palette is also huge with most coming in up to six or more colors. Also, interlocking concrete pavers are the easiest to repair/replace in the event of an issue. The damaged pavers can be removed and replaced without showing any sign of repair work. In our opinion, this option is by far the best value.
Stone: Natural stone is also commonly used. We often prefer to install it on a concrete base. This option is more costly than pavers but offers a very natural look that many desire. Also, stone that is mortared to a concrete base will completely prevent weeds in the joints.
The geographic location of where the stone is from will change the color, texture, and shapes of the natural stone. The most common one for the Mid-Atlantic region is Pennsylvania bluestone (aka flagstone). It is available in blue, grey, green, and tan. It also comes in random right angle sizes as well as irregular (broken look) pieces. This product, however, is becoming scarce, as many of the quarries in PA are selling the natural gas mining rights to the gas companies to harvest. This is only increasing the popularity of interlocking concrete pavers.
Patio Design & Installation in Maryland
No matter what material you want for your patio—and no matter how you want your outdoor living space to look, Four Seasons can help. We’ll build you a patio that complements your lifestyle and needs. Contact us to learn more.
