10041 Polk Street NE Minneapolis, MN 55434

Benefits of Using Pavers vs. Concrete for Building a Patio in MN

Most Minneapolis home owners would agree that a well-designed patio or walkway using decorative pavers, looks much nicer than a plain concrete patio. Standard / Natural brushed concrete can have a clean utilitarian look when new, but visually it’s pretty bland. It can feel a little cold as a patio surface material and certainly would not be most people’s first choice to use for their outdoor living space.

The primary benefit of using plain concrete is that it’s less expensive per square foot installed than pavers or stamped concrete. However, once you start getting into stamped and colored concrete the additional costs incurred by adding textures, colors, and finishes makes the cost of stamped concrete around the same price points as pavers, without the benefit of never cracking that you’d get with pavers.

Problems with Using Concrete for a Patio in Minnesota

There’s Concrete that’s Cracked and Concrete That’s going to Crack

Concrete is susceptible to damage caused by our cold climate weather. There’s and old saying about there being only two kinds of concrete found in Minnesota; there’s concrete that is cracked and concrete that is going to crack. Our state has some extreme temperature swings throughout the season easily ranging from -30° below zero to 100° degrees above.

Concrete Staining Issues

Because of the light color of plain or natural concrete and its porous nature, staining and discoloration is an issue. Stains from oil, rust, wet grass clippings, leaves, seeds, or berries from overhanging trees are difficult to remove and can become permanent if not addressed quickly.

Sealing concrete every 2-3 years can help reduce staining, but honestly, nobody ever does it. The entire surface would require cleaning/scrubbing with a brush and cleaning solution, then power washing, allowing time for complete drying then application of a sealant. In our experience, it’s just not practical for homeowners to keep up with that every couple of years.

Cracking is the #1 Problem with Concrete Patios in MN

A cracked concrete patio with a yellow power cord attached to it.

Water is absorbed and spread to the soils below and adjacent to your concrete surfaces. Those saturated soils freeze in the winter, which lifts and expands, causing cracking to occur in flatwork concrete surfaces like patios, walkways and driveways.

Water will get into voids during freeze thaw cycles and expand the cracks. It is inevitable that at some point concrete will require repair, because of these susceptibilities in cold climates like ours. After concrete cracks or breaks up, the repairs, no matter how well done, are just temporary patches.

There are ways to reduce the risk of patio cracking from freeze thaw damage, KG Landscape does offer outdoor drainage solutions that will help prevent Frost Heave Damage to Patios using Drain Tile or French Drains.

Replaced Sections of Concrete Will Not Match the Color of the Existing Sections

The issue when trying to replace just one cracked section of concrete in a large patio for example, is it that a replaced section will not match the color/tone of the existing concrete sections. This is because the color of concrete is highly dependent on many factors including: the air temps, sun exposure and humidity while it cures, natural discoloration factors like staying/dirt/weathering over time, and the precise concrete mix and water percentage used.

Stamped Concrete is Not the Best Patio Material for MN

The biggest issue we have with using stamped concrete in MN, is that you pay almost the same as you would for pavers, or just slightly less, but the stamped concrete will crack and pavers won’t.
Stamped concrete is used to mimic the look or real pavers, tile, or brick at a lower cost.

This is done by laying down concrete and stamping a pattern on the surface and then adding coloring elements to achieve its appearance.

Stamped Concrete is More Practical for Use in Warmer Southern Climates than Here in MN

Stamped concrete is most commonly used in warmer climates, where it lasts longer than in Northern climates do to cracking issues caused by our ground freeze-thaw cycles. Because of the added cost incurred by stamping and coloring concrete, as well as its vulnerabilities to cracking; stamped concrete is not the best or most popular choice for a patio material in MN or in any other Northern climate.

There several other drawbacks to stamped concrete.

Stamped concrete needs to be washed and sealed regularly, every two or three years to maintain its look and finish. The issue is that the top color coating on colored concrete is very thin, be that it’s applied topically with a powder at the time of installation. So, to protect that thin top coat finish color, regular applications of sealant is needed.

Cracking in stamped concrete also stands out far more visually in compassion to cracks in natural uncolored concrete, because the interior color of colored concrete is different from the surface color/finish. It’s also very difficult to attempt to custom mix a similar color for crack repairs in stamped concrete. Sawcut joints/seams also cut though the pattern, which can be quite noticeable.

Pros and Cons of Using Pavers for a Patio Space in MN

A wooden pergola with a table and chairs underneath it

There are several primary benefits to pavers.
1) Paver patios do not crack. Because paver patios, unlike poured concrete patios, are made using hundreds of individual pieces of stone/pavers, they move and shift independently with small shifts in the soil that are caused by freezing and expanding. When the soil thaws, pavers can shift back again without ever cracking, eliminating the chances for damage.
2 )If a professionally installed paver patio were ever to shift out of place or become uneven after many years, then a plate compactor can be run over the top of the pavers to completely re-level them with very minimal cost and effort.
3)Pavers provide a more unique and authentic look for a patio. Pavers can be found in a wide variety of patterns, sizes, textures and color blends. Including, those with traditional appeal to those with much larger and more modern sizes and style types, including multipiece stone patterns.

Pavers can be used in a multitude of ways to create a unique and interesting outdoor space. Accent borders, also called a soldier or sailor course, add a ton of depth and visual interest. Inlays and contrasting patterns, or even use of several stone types can be used to define spaces and allow for endless design possibilities.

Pavers can also be used to build steps and landings allowing several types of hard surface spaces to match within the landscape. Visit the patio page on our website for a lot more info.

Do Weeds Grow in Paver Seams?

NO , because pros like us use a special polymeric sand instead of natural sand for pavers seams now. Gone are the days where weeds or ants would cause maintenance issues between paver joints. We use only high-quality polymeric jointing sand, which is basically a flexible outdoor grout with a binding agent that securely holds to create an impenetrable joint that’s resistant to weeds and insect damage.

It is long lasting, highly resistant to erosion, extremely durable, doesn’t decompose, comes in a rich variety of colors, and does not crack because it rehardens after wetting. It’s pretty cool stuff!

Will Pavers Sink or Become Wavy and Uneven Overtime?

Correctly installed Pavers should last a lifetime . If you’ve ever seen a paver patio or pathway than had uneven or sunken pavers, then we can guarantee it’s because one of these three reasons:
1) The pavers were not installed correctly by a qualified professional company
2) Whoever installed those pavers did not properly address an outdoor drainage issue that has since caused erosion or settling issues
3) Or that those pavers were installed well over 30 years ago.

A professionally installed paver patio should include the following features to prevent pavers from moving or shifting over time:

Heavily compacted sub-soil, using a vibratory plate compacto
Geotextile fabric installed above the sub-soil
5-6” of compacted class 5 or class 2 base material below the patio
1” of setting sand or fine crushed rock
A ¼” per foot slope in the patio to drain water off of the paver surface
Snap edging or other type secure perimeter border preventing paver moment

KG Landscape is one of the Best Patio Design and Installation Companies in the Twin Cities

We Recommend Using Pavers or Natural Stone for Patios Here in Minnesota

KG Landscape uses concrete pavers and natural stone for paving. We simply feel that pavers are the best option for patios and walkway, because of they don’t crack like poured concrete does as well as the many other advantages listed above.

The significant range of paver style and color choices, design options, durability and low maintenance make pavers an overall better material option for patios and walkways here in MN.

Do you still have questions, or are you looking to tackle a patio design or any other landscape design service soon?