brickpavers vs. stamped concrete

Considering a new patio, (GRM inside jokes aside) very little grade to support a deck without having to be a step up from the house.

roughly 12 feet by 22 feet, minimal earthmoving/leveling required. What should I expect in price per sq foot for something pretty basic? I know the skys the limit on these things, but I'm looking at the lower end and don't want to do any of it myself. (my back just isn't up for it and I HATE this kind of work)

buy some pavers from lowes or homedepot and hire some kids?

I've had both at my house in the past 15 years. Hated the brick. Love the stamped concrete.

Stamped concrete is expensive in most markets. It will hold up way better than pavers but it's also not the most durable concrete ever. Basically it doesn't get the amount of finishing to densify the surface of other finishes. I don't recommend it for something you would drive on etc

And bluntly....cheap stamped concrete sucks giant monkey balls. Its not a type of concrete you can do cheaply and well. I would greatly recommend not using the cheapest bid

I've done some stamped and colored decorative concrete work. It's hard work, harder than normal concrete work which is hard work in itself. It's beautiful when done correctly though.

Pricing is going to be very regional. I can try to get in touch with a buddy to see what he is getting for it now a days. He is in Cincy so it may not be applicable to your location.

Antihero wrote: Stamped concrete is expensive in most markets. It will hold up way better than pavers but it's also not the most durable concrete ever. Basically it doesn't get the amount of finishing to densify the surface of other finishes. I don't recommend it for something you would drive on etc And bluntly....cheap stamped concrete sucks giant monkey balls. Its not a type of concrete you can do cheaply and well. I would greatly recommend not using the cheapest bid

My driveway is stamped concrete, about 30 years old. Its in great condition considering its on a slope and has a large tree pretty much butted up against it. My neighbours driveway is standard concrete, similar age, same slope, further from the tree by a few feet and is completely stuffed.

Im assuming that they put more reo and poured deeper on mine to offset any weakness. It looks to have worked.

daeman wrote:

Antihero wrote: Stamped concrete is expensive in most markets. It will hold up way better than pavers but it's also not the most durable concrete ever. Basically it doesn't get the amount of finishing to densify the surface of other finishes. I don't recommend it for something you would drive on etc And bluntly....cheap stamped concrete sucks giant monkey balls. Its not a type of concrete you can do cheaply and well. I would greatly recommend not using the cheapest bid

My driveway is stamped concrete, about 30 years old. Its in great condition considering its on a slope and has a large tree pretty much butted up against it. My neighbours driveway is standard concrete, similar age, same slope, further from the tree by a few feet and is completely stuffed. Im assuming that they put more reo and poured deeper on mine to offset any weakness. It looks to have worked.

There is always exceptions but as a general rule stamped just isn't as durable

I have a brick paver sidewalk. If the installation is done right they last a long time; my sidewalk is around 25 years old and is still nice and flat for the most part, with just a couple bricks here and there slightly out of plumb. You will eventually get some weeds growing up in the cracks but that's fairly minimal as well.

I hate my back patio. Done with brick pavers. My problem is likely due to poor drainage. Weeds try to grow between all the bricks. Such a pain to constantly battle them. Patio was there when I moved in.

E36 M3, my back patio is entirely the remnants of a block silo that was torn down circa 1950....stones are still good, the bed for them however is E36 M3.

Ants loved making their homes between the bricks.

My paver patio is 25 years old and is in pretty good shape. I recently had a large area of concrete quoted and it was close to $10/sq.ft. That was for the driveway, so it would be thicker than you need, but not stamped or coloured either. If it were me I'd be doing it in pavers on a good compacted base.

I have pavers for the driveway and the walkway. Hard to tell where th pavers stop and the lawn starts for all the weeds growing through the cracks. Weed eradication without proper herbicides is pretty much futile.

Pete

Canoe deleted.

Had really good luck having a stamped dyed patio put in last year.  Ended up at 11/sq and really happy with it overall.

I'm in the dilemma currently. I've got a driveway I want to widen. Unforunately, my old pavers are no longer available, by the manufacturer or anyone else. So I either match the color with pavers that are half the size, or I match the size with a different color. 

For the same price, I could just do stamped concrete, but I need to find a 9x12 stamp. 

pheller said:

For the same price, I could just do stamped concrete, but I need to find a 9x12 stamp. 

How hard would it be to make your own stamp ?

Could you have someone CNC one to match what you already have ?

Or do a Ferrari logo stamp !

In reply to pheller :

Color matching can get tricky, what color are you trying to match?

Belgard's "Sedona Blend".

I can find some lingering stock in 6x6, but my large 9in x 12in x 60mm pavers in that color were discontinued 3 or so years ago. Virtually nobody has Belgard 9x12, and if they do its a completely different color. 

In reply to pheller :

Looks like a tan, brown and red mix?

yea accept my now 10 year old pavers look grey and pink. 

FYI, I've read that stamped concrete may not be as durable as traditional concrete in applications with frequent, heavy traffic such as a driveway because the surface cannot be treated/power troweled the same way that a normal slab can be. Maybe a spray on densifier after the fact could help it out?

pheller said:

yea accept my now 10 year old pavers look grey and pink. 

gray and pink might be easier. pour it gray with a pinkish release and you should get close

In reply to STM317 :

exactly true, the surface is barely finished at all