Hardscaping is an important component of landscape design, adding both beauty and functionality to your outdoor spaces. Many hardscaping materials are available to home and business owners, and it is important to pick the right one for the job. Brick pavers are an excellent choice for many hardscaping needs and provide five key benefits over other paving materials when properly installed.
1. Immediate Use
Concrete requires several days to cure and cannot be used until it does, leaving you looking for a parking space while you wait for your new driveway to become useable. Brick pavers, however, are ready for use as soon as they are laid. Whether you build a driveway, walkway or patio, brick pavers allow you to use the structure immediately. You can install a paver patio Friday and host a garden party Saturday.
2. Superior Runoff
Water and hardscaping don’t always mix well, especially in Michigan and other regions with harsh winters. Water’s freezing and thawing cycle causes cracks in some materials and solid slabs of concrete can gather water and prevent proper drainage. The many joints between brick pavers, however, allow room for the expansion of water as it freezes and allow rainwater, melted snow and runoff to trickle down between the pavers and safely into the ground below. This avoids issues caused by poor drainage, reduces wet nighttime glare and lowers the risk of skidding on a wet driveway.
3. Low Maintenance
Brick pavers are extremely durable and seldom require repair. When small chips and dings do happen, they are barely noticeable since bricks are the same color throughout. In the rare instance that a paver does become noticeably damaged, removal and replacement is easy. Individual bricks can be removed quickly and replaced without disturbing the surrounding pavers.
4. Timelessness
Design trends change over time, but brick provides a timeless, classic look that doesn’t need constant updating. Think twice before choosing a popular and hip hardscaping material. You may love it now, but will you (or your neighbors) grow to hate it over time as it loses popularity? Will the material date your house faster than a kitchen filled with avocado-colored appliances? Brick pavers eliminate this problem with a charming look that has yet to go out of style.
5. They’re Green
Brick pavers may be red, but they’re also green. Made of clay, brick pavers are a completely natural material to add to your landscape. Bricks are sometimes reclaimed when old buildings are demolished, as well, and then cleaned and sold to be used again. This recycling process adds character to the pavers and helps to recycle old materials rather than creating new ones.
Classic, durable, functional and environmentally friendly, few hardscaping materials can compete with brick pavers. If you’re redoing your landscape to include hardscape features, talk to your landscape professional about the many benefits of brick pavers and the ways in which you can incorporate this low maintenance material into your outdoor plans. You’ll be glad you did for many years to come.
