Choosing the Right Patio Material for Your Landscape

A patio is often the central element of a residential landscape. It provides a space for gathering or entertaining, becoming an extension of the indoors. The specifics of a patio can be customized endlessly to suit the needs and lifestyle of the homeowner, but there are a few broad categories of material to choose from.

Poured Concrete Patios

Poured concrete is by far the most popular choice for an outdoor patio. It comes in a range of colors and textures (see our post on concrete finishes here), which makes it suitable for any style of landscape. Concrete provides a smooth, flat surface that is easy to walk across and is a perfect setting for outdoor furniture. Other than regular cleaning and sealing, concrete is extremely low maintenance option, and properly installed and cared for concrete has a very long lifespan.

A stamped concrete patio creates an entertaining pocket on this hillside.

Concrete can be an expensive option, however, especially depending on the complexity of the finishing process. It is also difficult to repair any damage that occurs, and the old saying that there are two types of concrete--concrete that has cracked, and concrete that will crack--holds true, even with the best preparation. Concrete patios also have a heavy environmental burden, requiring a large amount of energy to produce the cement that binds the concrete together. Concrete is also an impermeable surface, meaning that water cannot pass through it. Instead, water runs off the surface, which can cause localized flooding. Runoff from concrete can also carry contaminants, which is an important consideration for landscapes near sensitive wetlands and bodies of water.

Paver Patios

Paver patios are a classic style that still works in modern landscapes. While traditional paver patios were usually made of clay bricks, today you’re more likely to find pavers made from concrete in an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors. Paver patios can create a rich, elegant look in the landscape, and the variety available makes it possible to find a paver that complements any landscape. Because they are modular by nature, a paver patio is easy to repair if part of it gets damaged, and the pavers themselves can be used if the patio layout is changed at some point in the future. Depending on the installation procedure and the style of paver, the joints between pavers can allow water through, allowing for water infiltration into the soil below. These semi-permeable designs can be a good choice for patios in ecologically sensitive areas, creating less runoff than concrete or non-permeable pavers while still offering a smooth, usable surface.

Modern concrete pavers come in a variety of styles, like this flagstone look.

Concrete pavers, however, carry with them the same energy intensive manufacturing process as poured concrete. They also require a great deal of work to install, especially in regions like Spokane and Coeur D’Alene where extensive preparation is needed to counteract frost heave. When accounting for all the labor involved, paver patios usually end up more expensive than even the priciest concrete finishes. And while well-chosen pavers can give a landscape a luxurious look, the wrong pattern or color will make things look busy or overwhelming, detracting from the overall design.

Flagstone Patios

For a patio that truly expresses the character of its setting, local flagstone can’t be rivaled. A flagstone patio is usually constructed one of two ways. Either the flagstone pieces are set in a bed of sand, similar to paver installation, or they are mortared on top of a poured concrete slab. Either method can be repaired in case of damage, and the former has the added benefit of being permeable to water infiltration. The irregular shape of flagstone can add a natural feel to the landscape, but it can also be cut to size, known as dimensional stone, for a more classic style.

This flagstone patio creates a natural, low-impact entertaining area by the water's edge.

The variation in the surface of flagstone, however, doesn’t make it a great choice for high use areas, especially dining areas where people will be frequently moving furniture around. Additionally, natural flagstone is often one of the most expensive patio options, depending how common the stone is and how far from the quarry the project is located. In addition to the high costs of materials, uncut flagstone requires even more installation time than pavers, as each stone has to be fitted together with others like a puzzle. Dimensional flagstone has the advantage on install time, but more than makes up for it with the increased processing it has to undergo. And when it comes down to it, natural stone simply doesn’t work with every style of landscape.

Gravel Patios

Gravel patios offer a substantially different surface to other options, and the exact gravel choice has a lot of impact on the functionality of a patio (see our post on that here). Overall, however, gravel patios are an inexpensive option for outdoor gathering space. Gravel is fully permeable to water, and of course won’t suffer from cracks or chips in the surface. From modern to rustic landscape designs, there are gravel options to fit.

Concrete pavers set into this gravel patio create a more robust walking path.

Gravel is best suited to patios that don’t get heavy use, however. Foot traffic and the movement of furniture will displace the gravel, although the degree of movement will depend on the type of used. Sitting areas can be great, for example, but the constant scooting of chairs around a dining table would be difficult on most gravel surfaces.And without some sort of buffer between the patio and the indoors, it’s easy to track gravel particles indoors, potentially damaging floors inside.

One material does not exclude another, however, and it’s possible to artfully mix patio materials in the landscape, or even within an individual patio. If you’re interested in a creative patio design, get in touch with us at Pacific Garden Design to discuss your landscaping project.

Gravel Options for Patios and Paths

Gravel is a great, low-impact material for patios and pathways. It is less expensive than solid materials like concrete, pavers, or flagstone; is quick to install; and has many environmental benefits over solid surfaces. The type of gravel used affects the function of the space, but it can also impact the overall aesthetic. A speckled gray gravel can evoke a zen garden feel, golden decomposed granite conjures Tuscan themes, and dark lava rock harkens back to mid-century landscapes. Here’s an overview of a few gravel options to consider for a gravel path or patio.

Pea Gravel

Pea gravel is a popular material because it is inexpensive and comes in a variety of colors and sizes. It’s composed of rounded pebbles, so it is comfortable for pets or bare feet to walk across. Because of its round shape, however, pea gravel can’t be compacted into a smooth surface. Individual pebbles simply shift against one another when force is applied, like plastic balls in a ball pit. Just as a child jumping into a ball pit will plunge down beneath the surface, your feet, furniture legs, and trash can wheels will similarly displace pea gravel as they press down. This makes pea gravel a poor choice for patios, where it will impede the movement of people and furniture, and a high maintenance choice for paths, where it will require frequent smoothing and cleanup of stray pebbles that have been inadvertently flung out of place.

Basalt Chip

Basalt is a dark, volcanic rock that is plentiful across the Inland Northwest, thanks to lava flows that blanketed the region a few million years ago, making it a fairly affordable choice in the region today. The rock is fairly uniform in color, which makes it ideal for understated use in the landscape. Basalt comes in many sizes, from cobbles several inches across to small gravel of less than half an inch. Because of the texture of the rock, chipped basalt breaks into jagged, angular pieces. While this can be uncomfortable on bare feet, it does mean that the edges of the gravel pieces will lock together when compacted. This allows you to create a much stronger surface than pea gravel, as the individual chips do not shift and travel in the same way as round pebbles. Smaller-sized basalt chip will create a smoother, flatter patio, but the smaller pieces can also be more painful to step on.

Small basalt chip creates a stable patio surface, but it can be uncomfortable on bare feet.

Crushed Granite

Like basalt, granite is a volcanic rock that is fairly common throughout the Spokane/Coeur D’Alene region. Its texture is very different, however, with large crystals of different colored minerals. In addition to giving crushed granite a very different look than basalt chip, those large crystals provide a coarse network of joints at which the granite breaks apart when crushed. This results in gravel with fewer sharp edges, and those edges that remain wear down more easily than basalt would. Even a granite pebble without sharp edges will have many bumps and ridges that allow it to lock against surrounding pebbles when compacted, making it a very good choice for gravel pathways and patios. In our area, it is usually close to basalt in price, but that will vary across the country depending on local supply.

A flagstone path through crushed granite forms a comfortable walkway for bare feet and pets.

Decomposed Granite

Decomposed granite offers a compromise between the comfortable feel of pea gravel and the structural integrity of basalt chip or crushed granite. As granite ages, the individual crystals and minerals break apart, forming a material with particles that range from rock dust to very small rounded pebbles that won’t stab a bare foot or paw. A decomposed granite patio or pathway is usually more expensive than using a similar crushed granite, but the small and varied particles compact down to a very strong and stable surface, comparable to a solid product. This means that decomposed granite has much less maintenance than other gravel products, while also being much more comfortable to walk on and use as a patio.

While all gravel patio and path options are more affordable and offer environmental benefits over solid products like concrete or pavers, they counter that somewhat with their increased maintenance. The level of maintenance will certainly vary by material and application, but in general a more expensive material like decomposed granite will need much less repair and replenishing than a material like pea gravel. Each person’s needs and budget will dictate which type of gravel patio is appropriate for their landscape. If you think a gravel patio might be a good choice for your landscape, contact us to look at your options.