Tag Archives: South Florida custom paving

Installing paving stones on concrete

How to Install Paving Stones on Concrete

How to Install Paving Stones on Concrete

There is no doubt that, when it comes to custom paving in South Florida, paving stones reign supreme over both asphalt and concrete. However, you don’t have to rule out either of these materials completely. You can install paving stones on concrete, and here’s your guide on how to do it.

Why You Should Install Paving Stones on Concrete

On its own, concrete may be inferior to pavement hardscapes. However, it can actually provide a surface that is remarkably stable when paving stones are installed over it. In fact, it is much more stable than installing paving stones over asphalt. This benefits you as a homeowner. Pavers remain stable for much longer, meaning you won’t have to replace them.

What You Will Need

  • Concrete padding
  • Bucket (about 10 quarts’ volume)
  • Mortar
  • Water
  • Trowel (preferably one that has margins/notches)
  • Paving stones
  • Rubber mallet
  • Dry cement
  • Cement sand
  • Broom

Step-By Step Instructions

  1. To install paving stones on concrete, first lay them on your concrete padding.
  2. In a bucket, mix your mortar with water until it becomes nice and thick.
  3. Use your trowel to spread a 0.25″ deep mixture on the padding, using the dimensions of your paving stones as a guideline.
  4. Starting in one corner, start to lay the pavers down. As you install each paving stone, make sure it is flush — both front to back and side to side.
  5. Pour dry cement beginning at the center and moving outward. Make sure this is a thin depth, about 0.25″ which will raise the central pavers to be level with the ones on the edge.
  6. Begin placing paving stones on the other corner, installing them the same way as in step #4.
  7. Secure the paving stones by tapping them with your mallet. Make sure they are all at a level depth.
  8. The last step to install paving stones on concrete is sprinkling concrete sand over the entire paving structure. Brush the sand off the stones themselves and into the crevices to make sure there is no excess.
Installing paving stones over asphalt

Can You Install Paving Stones Over Asphalt?

When it comes to custom paving in South Florida, there is no doubt that paving stones reign supreme. The advantages of paving stones vs. asphalt are many: asphalt cracks, melts and retains a hot surface temperature. This is why so many South Florida homeowners choose interlocking stone installation from inception. Yet, what about homeowners who have already paved their driveway with asphalt? Can they install paving stones over the existing asphalt?

Should You Install Pavers Over Asphalt?

The answer is yes, you can install pavers over asphalt. But should you? It is debatable. In South Florida, warranties for paving stones over asphalt are rare because of the hot temperature, which may cause the asphalt to melt.

How To Install Paving Stones Over Asphalt

Yet, installing pavers over your existing asphalt driveway is still better than removing the asphalt and starting from square one. This can be timely and expensive, as you will need to:

  • Check with your local government’s regulations for asphalt disposal
  • Jackhammer the asphalt bit by bit to break it up
  • Shovel each piece of asphalt into a wheelbarrow to dispose of it

So, it is often easier to simply install paving stones over asphalt. This process is not much different than the normal procedure for custom paving in South Florida. Here is what we do:

  1. Repair and cracks, divots, etc to make sure the asphalt is in as good and level a condition as possible.
  2. Since your driveway will need to sustain a larger weight for vehicles, we install a 1” class II base of bedding sand with a depth of 4”.
  3. Place a board around the perimeter of your driveway.
  4. Use a plate vibrator to force the paving stones into the sand bedding and push the sand up between the stones to interlock them.

Voila — you have installed paving stones over asphalt, killing two birds with one stone in the process. On the one hand, you’ve saved yourself the time and headache of removing asphalt from your driveway. To boot, you’ve also installed paving stones, an infinitely more attractive and aesthetic custom paving arrangement.

Exterior of custom beach house

Why Build a Custom Home in South Florida?

If you have ever driven through Highway A1A and seen the beautiful, luxury mansions that look over the Atlantic shoreline, you know one thing: there is no shortage of upscale housing. Whether in Delray Beach or Highland Beach, this is true. So, you may be wondering why you should build a custom home in South Florida at all?

Aesthetic Considerations

The answer is quite simple: custom home building isn’t just about luxury. It’s also about getting exactly what you want in a luxury home. This is only guaranteed when you build a custom home in South Florida. Any other luxury home may look nice and have many features you like, but it may not be 100% to your wants and needs. The following are only a few examples of what we mean by this.

Floorplans & Layouts

Typical floorplan of a house

This is what the typical floorplan of a house might look like.

Blank floorplan of a custom home in South Florida

This is the floorplan of a custom home in South Florida.

Look at these two floorplans and the first thing you will notice is that one isn’t even a floorplan at all! And this is precisely the point. When you build a custom home in South Florida, you start from absolutely nothing. You get to customize each aspect of your house — from the tiniest detail — right from phase one.

Paving & Landscape

For truly luxury home construction, what’s outside is just as important as what’s inside. That’s why so many homeowners in South Florida are turning to custom paving and landscape. A particularly important area is driveway and walkway paving. Take this for example:

custom paversAmerican real estate. Luxury house exterior with brick trim

There is no question that both houses are upscale and beautiful, but only the left picture with interlocking custom pavers truly compliments the quality of the house.

Practical Considerations

There are dozens of practical advantages to building a custom home in South Florida, such as:

  • Particular needs of the homeowner such as wheelchair ramps
  • Better resale value
  • More flexibility on land usage

Green Construction

Finally, one specific practical consideration in the realm of South Florida home construction is how to your home green. In this area, there is no question that you get unparalleled advantages when you build a custom home in South Florida. When you have 100% control over the building process, you can determine everything from your energy source to more environment-friendly housing components. For example:

  • While pre-built homes come with certain appliances, you can install Energy STAR components.
  • Greener landscapes and garden work.
  • Many homeowners consider windmills unattractive and will therefore no sell a home that has them, but you have the option of installing them if you deem environmental concerns to be more important.
  • Installing solar panels.
  • Choosing natural gas as your energy source.
South Florida custom paving with paving stones

South Florida Custom Paving: Pavers vs. Concrete

South Florida custom paving is all about you — what we can do for your driveway, walkway or patio? At CCM, experience has taught us one thing about customer service: custom paving isn’t simply about short-term benefits such as up-front cost and aesthetics. It’s also about giving you pavement hardscapes that will add value and beauty for a lifetime.

Why We Use Pavers for South Florida Custom Paving

For this reason, we use paver hardscapes for our custom paving services. We have over two decades of experience in the South Florida custom paving industry which gives us the expertise to know which paving materials provide superior quality. Let’s have a look at how our custom paver stones compare to concrete alternatives.

Custom Paving With Concrete

Along with asphalt, concrete is one of the most popular methods used in South Florida custom paving. It’s also one of the materials that has been in use the longest. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using concrete:

Advantages of Paving With Concrete

It’s low cost per square foot makes concrete one of the cheapest options for South Florida custom paving. In addition, it has the advantage of familiarity and traditional paving appearance.

Disadvantages of Paving With Concrete

Concrete in South Florida custom paving example

Concrete will inevitably crack, which makes it a poor long-term choice for a South Florida custom paving project.

However, concrete is prone to cracking. There are multiple reasons it may crack, such as:

  • Heavy loads (such as large cars)
  • Concrete shrinks
  • Weather/changes in temperature causes expansion and contraction

The constant cracking of concrete is even more problematic for South Florida custom paving jobs because cracks occur at random. This requires multiple repairs at any given time, which makes it extremely difficult to preserve a uniform paving style and color.

Custom Paving With Stamped Concrete

Stamped concrete is a newer and more aesthetic material that has become popular in South Florida custom paving. “Stamping” concrete refers to texturing or forming it into a pattern that less resembles concrete and more resembles bricks, stones, etc.

Advantages of Paving With Stamped Concrete

The primary advantage of stamped concrete is that it doesn’t look like concrete, which is often considered unattractive. This makes it not only better looking, but a more customizable option for South Florida custom paving.

Disadvantages of Paving With Stamped Concrete

As odd as it may seem, the benefits of concrete pavers lead to even more disadvantages than regular concrete. They are still prone to cracking, but it is even harder to patch the cracks while still maintaining color and style. This creates with irregularities in the concrete which are even less attractive than the patches and repairs in concrete.

Why Choose Custom Pavers for Your South Florida Custom Paving?

With custom pavers (a.k.a. paving stones), you get none of the problems with cracking and repairs that concrete and stamped concrete cause. Pavers are individual stones, which creates natural linkages and makes them less prone to cracking due to weather. They also provide these extra advantages:

  • Lifetime guarantee backed by warranty.
  • No wait after installation (unlike concrete, which must wait 3-5 days).
  • More customized appearance.
  • Extremely strong and durable.
  • If repairs are needed, individual stones can be replaced. This eliminates ugly cracks and patches.

Call Complete Construction & Management for premier South Florida custom paving, using only the finest custom pavers! Call 561-436-3679 today!

CCM uses pavers for custom paving in South Florida

Custom Paving in South Florida: Asphalt vs. Pavers

Custom paving in South Florida isn’t just a matter of pavers vs. concrete. Another popular option is asphalt. It is similar to concrete and stamped concrete in a number of ways. Both concrete and asphalt are poured and flattened, whereas custom pavers are installed. Asphalt and concrete are also considered cheaper options for custom paving in South Florida.

Custom Paving in South Florida: Asphalt vs. Pavers

There are both advantages and disadvantages of using asphalt for custom paving in South Florida. However, we think that CCM’s custom pavers make for a better overall paving experience. Here are the reasons why.

Advantages of Custom Paving With Asphalt

  • Inexpensive
  • Restricts buildup of dust
  • Can pave over and be paved over
  • Efficient water drainage
  • Unaffected by ice*

*Asphalt’s immunity to ice build up is a principal advantage over concrete, which will crack when ice thaws. However, for such hot climates it is not relevant to custom paving in South Florida.

Disadvantages of Custom Paving With Asphalt

Despite its cheapness and other advantages, asphalt does not compare to the value the pavers we use for custom paving in South Florida. Appearance and surface quality are two of the many areas where custom pavers outshine asphalt.

Appearance

cracking makes asphalt an unattractive choice for custom paving in South Florida

Like concrete, asphalt will inevitably crack over time.

Asphalt is poured to create a smooth, black surface. This immediately makes it seem unattractive for luxury homes in South Florida. Even if homeowners can get past the plain appearance, it’s important to realize that asphalt will not remain that way. Like concrete, it will crack over time.

Surface

There are also two features that make asphalt particularly unappealing for custom paving in South Florida:

  1. Melting
  2. Surface temperature

Asphalt is extremely temperature-sensitive, as anyone who has stepped barefoot onto a blacktop will undoubtedly attest to.

Why We Use Pavers for Custom Paving in South Florida

Only stone pavers provide true style and elegance for custom paving in South Florida luxury homes. Whereas asphalt looks plain, custom pavers are made to look customized and extremely intricate. They also last for a lifetime, forever adding to the value of your house. They come in different sizes, shapes and colors, which allows CCM to really put the custom in custom paving.

For the best custom paving in South Florida, call Complete Construction & Management at 561-436-3679 today!