Landscaping With Clay Pavers: Beyond The Brick Path

(HIT) - Typically associated with traditional, formal landscaping and scenic drives through the many historic districts of our nation, landscaping with clay pavers is, increasingly, the choice of homeowners looking to add a bit of timeless beauty to their landscapes. While century-old brick streets are still in use across America, the residential use of genuine clay pavers is an exciting new trend in landscaping for new construction, as well as existing homes. Homeowners are realizing that landscaping with clay brick pavers is perfect for nearly any home in any setting.

Clay pavers are being used to create "hardscape" landscaping features—driveways, walkways, patios, porches and more—for a wide spectrum of homes, from palatial to cozy and from ultra-modern to traditional. The variety of textures, colors, patterns and applications of clay pavers make it possible for homeowners to transform almost any landscape from the ordinary into the extraordinary. And, like traditional "face brick," landscaping with clay pavers is more art than science, resulting in endless design possibilities for masons, architects and creative do-it-yourselfers. So what’s really hot in the paving world today and why do genuine clay pavers continue to rise in popularity?

Types of Clay Pavers

Genuine clay pavers come in several different shapes and sizes, allowing the consumer more freedom in designing a specialized look. Each type of paver has its unique strengths and characteristics, making some more suitable for a specific project than others. Major landscaping clay paver categories include:

• Relieved edge clay landscaping pavers (4" x 8" or 8" x 8"): With beveled or rounded edges, these rectangular or square pavers are ideal for mortarless, sand-set installation and often include spacer nibs. They are tough enough for driveways, but also popular for non-vehicular applications.
• Traditional edge clay landscaping pavers (4" x 8"): Ranging in thickness from standard 2-1/4 down to a 1-1/4 thin variety, these rectangular-shaped, square-edge pavers are the most economical and thus, most commonly used paver for residential landscaping. Often used for patios and garden pathways, traditional edge pavers are easily laid in a variety of interesting patterns.
• Molded clay landscaping pavers (4" x 8"): The paver industry’s premium product, these popular antique-look pavers are made individually, using a traditional wood-mold process. There are also less expensive varieties which achieve their Old World look through a tumbling process either before or after firing. The slight irregularities in the shape of these brick add to their charm and make them well suited for simple patterns like running bond.
• Specialty clay landscaping pavers (various): These include a variety of unusual pavers used to create custom looks for special needs. One such product is Whitacre Greer’s boardwalk paver, long, narrow paving bricks that mimic the look of wood, but provide the durability of genuine clay pavers. Other specialty shapes are the ‘dog bone’ and pentagon pavers. For an area that will receive heavier vehicular traffic, road pavers would be a specialty paver worth considering.
• Bull-nose clay landscaping pavers (4" x 8"): This curved edged paver is perfect for areas like curbs or step treads where you want to leave a bit of overhang, while its beveled edge provides an interesting, slightly indented appearance between pavers.

Clay Paver Texture And Color

Like face brick, clay pavers for landscaping come in a multitude of colors and textures, and because the color in a clay paver is "through and through," clay pavers never fade the way concrete pavers do. Color combinations range from the softest buff to the darkest charcoal, most mirroring a rich palette derived from clay’s natural earth tones. With many manufacturers producing palettes of more than 50 colors, clay landscaping pavers not only come in a variety of colors, but also in a variety of blended colors. One of the most popular blends is full-range flashed red, which includes numerous shades of red accented with charcoals and browns and different shades of red.

Textures impact the appearance of a landscaping project using clay pavers, playing just as important of a role as color. "Extruded clay landscaping pavers, known for their regularity, provide for a more precise, clean and smooth appearance," according to Tom Perry, Vice President of Marketing for the Brick Industry Association. However, he advises homeowners to also "consider molded pavers, which take on a charmingly irregular texture, for designs inclined toward the rustic or antique."

Clay Landscaping Paver Design and Installation

To mortar or not to mortar? That is the question. The answer, according to Pine Hall Brick’s Paver Business Director Ted Corvey, is one of the biggest misconceptions about clay pavers. "While most people think the clay pavers have to be laid on a concrete base with mortar, the reality is quite different. In fact, 90 percent of clay pavers are laid using mortarless sand systems," says Corvey.

After choosing the color, shape, size and texture of the landscaping paver, pattern options provide further room for a unique portrayal through design. The more precisely cut the brick, and hence the more regular, the easier it is to lay more complex patterns.
Many pattern options already exist, but basically, the pattern can deviate from the standard and conform to anything the designer desires. Those who like some guidance can choose from the tried and true landscaping patterns listed below:

• Basket Weave and Variations
• Stack Bond and Variations
• Herringbone
• Running Bond and Variations

Do-It-Yourselfers Landscaping With Clay Pavers

Paver manufacturers offer a variety of tools to simplify the clay landscaping paver installation process. These tools and products are worth looking into, especially if the landscaping job is being completed by a do-it-yourselfer. One such product is a versatile edging, which can be rigid or flexible, resists frost, rust, warp and deterioration. It adapts to either small or large paver landscaping projects and can be installed before or after the pavers are installed. Other tools include a layout square, a paver splitter, gloves designed for handling pavers, or even Pave Tech’s Paver Paw™, which can pick up pavers 6" to 10" wide.

One tool no do-it-yourselfer should be without is the Brick Industry Association’s handy brochure entitled "Seven Easy Steps to Installing Your Own Walkway, Driveway and Patio Without Mortar or Concrete". A web version of BIA’s brochure can be found at http://www.brickinfo.org/pdfs/7steps.pdf.

Clay Paver Landscaping Decisions

Still not ready to transform your landscape with clay pavers? The design advantages are clear, but other more practical benefits should be considered as well:

• Clay pavers provide more strength than regular concrete surfaces. Endurance capabilities will keep your brick standing the test of time, a claim supported by the fact that there are thousands of brick streets still intact after hundreds, and in some cases, thousands, of years. They are also much less likely to crack than concrete surfaces.
• Aesthetically, pavers add instant curb appeal to any property, a factor which translates into increased resale value when it’s time to sell your home.
• Genuine clay pavers come from the earth, representing a fusion of the primal elements of clay, water and fire. There is no greener choice for the environmentally minded consumer.
• Comprised of solid clay, genuine clay paver’s feature natural color, through and through. Unlike concrete aggregate pavers, they will never fade in color and will actually age well, like a good wine.

Interested in bringing a natural harmony to landscape design? Created from the earth itself, clay pavers are the perfect choice. From precise modernity to soft cobblestoned antique, a sweeping palette of colors and a myriad of patterns, applied with or without mortar, give homeowners and designers the ability to express themselves with endless possibilities.

People’s homes are the realization of their dreams, statements of beliefs and values. A brick driveway, walkway or patio allows for a timeless style with much room for unique creativity. No other landscaping material even comes close. Genuine clay brick pavers are the perfect material to ensure that the landscape you create today will be the one that’s there tomorrow.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center