One of the benefits of home ownership is the freedom to transform your backyard into your own outdoor oasis. Whether you want to enjoy the peace and quiet of a sunrise or entertain a group of friends for a barbecue, you need the right spot to do it. With the beauty of the Nashville area, it’s hard not to spend every instance of good weather outside.

By creating an outdoor patio, you create a dedicated space for enjoying your environment. It’s a protected surface that minimizes potholes, sticks, and mud that could be a hazard to walk on. Done well, it’s a visual bonus that helps to elevate the beauty of your home and property.

Patio spaces can be multi-function and customized to your needs. Ranging in size, design, and material, creating this space to soak in the sun or gaze at the stars is something that the professionals at Greenway can assist you in building.

When planning to make a patio, one of the primary decisions at hand is what material to build it with. The main options to create a uniform ground space are via poured concrete or individual pavers. We’ll review the differences between them to help you consider what will best fit your needs.

Poured Concrete Patios

Poured concrete is just what it sounds like: wet concrete that is poured into a predetermined space formed with lumber. After creating the area and excavating several inches, lumber is used to create a barrier around the outer edge to hold in the wet concrete that gets poured. Significant attention to detail is required to ensure all the lumber is straight and level (otherwise, the concrete could seep out the sides). Before pouring concrete, crushed stone is added to the excavated area to help with uniformity and drainage. Then, by filling the “mold” with wet concrete and letting it dry, you create a slab in the shape of your design. It needs to be leveled while still wet. For the concrete to set, it must be left alone for several days before removing the lumber edges. Any mistake, such as someone walking across it too soon, can lead to a costly redo.

Poured concrete patios have a uniform surface. The design can be elevated through techniques like stamping and staining. Stamping is a method that allows the poured concrete to look more like brick or flagstone, while staining helps change the color of the concrete.

In general, poured concrete is a less expensive option for creating a patio. Any additives, such as color, stenciling, or engraving will increase the price.

With pouring a concrete slab, whether for a new driveway or patio, there always comes the risk of cracks. While all prevention methods are implemented such as using expansion joints and cutting in trowel lines, the chance for concrete cracking always remains a possibility as it cures and expands.

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Paver Patios

Pavers are pre-poured bricks or stones that can vary in size, color, and shape. They are laid one by one on ground that has been leveled, packed, and prepared for the paver to nestle in. By creating a recessed area for the stones to sit in, it helps to keep them secured tightly together to prevent shifting. It’s important that the area be level to prevent the pavers from shifting or sitting unevenly. Laying pavers can be as simple as using a uniform-sized stone, however, the process grows in effort if an asymmetrical or patterned design area is being created. Polymeric sand is placed between the pavers, similar to how grout fills the space between tiles, and is set with exposure to water. The benefit is that with some planning, pavers can create an intricate and visually appealing design as part of the patio.

Using concrete pavers can be more expensive than poured concrete, at least in the short term. This is primarily due to the amount of labor required to put together a paver patio, as well as the price range in paver material selection.

Long term, however, pavers have a better lifespan and durability. Though pavers often settle over time, they are less likely to crack and need repair. If areas do settle, the existing pavers can be reset if it is a simple design.

Installation of pavers can take several days and is very labor intensive. Preparing the ground, cutting and laying the stones, and sanding the final product are all required steps of the process and could take more than a few days even for the most experienced people. If you’ve never built a patio, it could take more than double that time.

Long-Term Care and Patio Benefits

Poured concrete and pavers will both benefit from cleaning and sealing or resanding to increase durability as well as maintain appearance. As your patio ages, a buildup of dirt, mildew, and other growth can discolor the area. A power washer can be leveraged to help the concrete look new again. Sealant helps to protect poured concrete from wear and tear, including staining or growth of moss, but it can be difficult to apply. Resanding a paver patio can help seal the joints again.

Regardless of which approach you choose, the installation of a patio is an excellent way to take advantage of the outdoor space you own. It can also improve the value of your property if selling your home is a possibility in the future.

Greenway’s patio design and installation solutions are backed by years of experience—we’ve seen it all and can get your patio built right the first time. If you have multiple projects that need to be done, like a poured concrete patio along with a poured concrete retaining wall to help with landscape drainage, Greenway is the perfect resource for getting all the jobs done at once.

We’re happy to help you enhance your outdoor space by evaluating your landscape, recommending the appropriate solutions, and installing them with guaranteed success. Our expertise in patio construction will help you navigate choices of material and design without the stress of doing the work yourself. With Greenway of Nashville, you can have all of your spring projects done together without having to piecemeal the services from different providers. Request a free quote today on our website or contact us by phone at (615)-238-4574.

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