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PAVING STONES
Depending on the type of project you are planning from a simple jobs such as laying pavers to create a patio area to paving a front porch, sidewalk, walkway, driveway or a more complex project like paving around your patio, pool and spa. Many factor have to be considered including pavers that might be better for certain application than others and prices do vary considerably. Below is a brief guideline to help you make the right choice for your project.

There are many types of pavers available in the market today which fall into two categories - man made pavers and natural stone pavers.

MAN-MADE PAVERS:

Also known as manufactured pavers and include interlocking, brick or concrete.

  1. Interlocking pavers are manufactured by machinery and consist of fine and coarsely grained aggregate along with cement compounds. The ingredients are put through pressure and vibration courses, which produce a strong, durable concrete that can then be molded into various shapes and designs. Manufacturing of pavers is done on two types of machines. The first being Block Making Machines which is more popular, more productive, cost effective and yielding high strength product. The movements are controlled through hydraulics and the compaction is done through eccentric weight vibrators. An aggregate mix of sand, rock and cement. The mixture is then poured into a mold called "the shoes". The mixture is then hammered into the mold using several thousand pounds of pressure from the eccentric weight vibrators. They are then tested to make sure that the water to mixture ration is correct. Following this, the pavers go through a curing process that can last eighteen to twenty hours. The curing process and additional processes can vary based on the style of paver. The other choice is of Hydraulic press machines which do not offer the above mentioned advantages, however still common in few countries due to their low capital demand. There is no vibration to move the material in the mold thus voids may remain present. Interlocking concrete pavements or pavers are a special dry mix pre-cast piece of concrete commonly used in exterior hardscaping pavement applications. Unit Pavements or block paving, nicknamed pavers were developed prior to WWII and introduced in the early 1970s.

    Interlocking paving stones are installed over a compacted stone sub-base and a leveling bed of sand. Concrete paving stones can be used for walkways, patios, pool decks and driveways. When laid, connect in such a way that each of them keeps the others from moving around. They practically install themselves and is the easiest to install because they don’t require mortar. Instead of connecting the pavers by pouring mortar under the pavers as one would do when wet laying, sand particles are spread over the pavers and tamped down. The sand stabilizes the interlocking pavers, yet allows for some flexibility. This type of pavement will absorb stress such as small earthquakes, freezing / thawing and slight ground erosion by flexing. Therefore, they do not easily crack, break or buckle like poured asphalt or poured concrete. Some of the special tools needed for installing interlocking pavers are vibrating compaction machine and Shear Cutter. The former is used to compact the base material to 90% density minimum and also to set and interlock the pavers into the sand bed. The latter is used to cut the pieces to fit at corners and edges. The sand does not easily wash out with rain or garden hose water. Polymeric Sand or a sealant can be used to further lock or coagulate the sand. There are many other tools involved in preparing sub-grade, base materials, sand bed and installing unit pavements correctly. Standard thicknesses are 45mm (for light traffic) and 80mm (heavy traffic). Benefits of paver over asphalt and poured concrete include high compressive strengths (7000+ psi as per BS and 8000+ psi with no more than 5% absorption as per ASTM codes and as high as 19,000+ psi depending on manufacturer and type of unit pavement), pleasant look, time saving, easy removal and relaying.

    Interlocking pavers are perfect for any application that concrete or brick pavers would be used and are available in many colors and designs. Interlocking pavers are modular, which means that they connect to each other, forming many geometric designs.

    Applications
    Interlocking pavers can be used in commercial and residential uses. Commercial uses include parking lots, loading docks, industrial storage areas, airport pavements, public and industrial pavements, median strips, streets, community centers, erosion control and shopping malls. Residential uses include patios, decking, balconies, courtyards, walkways, driveways, pathways, pool surrounds, terraces and erosion control

    Benefits
    Abundant design options, comparative ease of repair, lack of cracking, durability and environmental friendliness (applies mostly to permeable interlocking pavers, which are held into place with plastic grid system and combined with plantings into a special design). Permeable pavers are best used in lower to medium traffic areas and are most commonly found in recreational areas, parking lots and along highways. Permeability allows for soil stabilization and usage of storm water runoff, eliminating the need for complex drainage systems.

    Colors
    Interlocking pavers come in a wide range of colors, from pale grey to the darkest black and every natural color in between, including brick color, deep green. Depending on your taste, some people choose to utilize only one color while others choose different colors are combined to add interest. To learn more about the patterns that interlocking pavers can be arranged in, please refer to Paver Patterns.

    Sandlewood Shale Grey Mojave Beige Champlain Grey Harvest Gold Chestnut Brown Autumn Red Oceana Shale Grey Polished Chestnut Brown Polished Oceana Polished

    Brands
    Below are some of the brands available in North America
    Air Vol Block,
    Alamo,
    Anchor,
    Angelus,
    Architechtural Stone,
    Atlas Block,
    AZ Block,
    Basalite,
    Barkman,
    Bella,
    Belgard,
    Bestway,
    Borgert,
    Brown's,
    Bolduc,
    Cambridge,
    Calstone,
    Calstar,
    CastleLite,
    Custom Stone,
    Eagle Bay,
    Expocrete,
    EP Henry,
    Flagstone,
    Fendt,
    Gagne,
    Genest,
    General Shale,
    Hasnon,
    Hardscapes,
    Ideal,
    Interlock,
    Interlock Concrete,
    Lampus,
    Lowcountry,
    Lehi Block,
    McNear,
    Midwest,
    Mutual Materials,
    Nicolock,
    Nitterhouse,
    Oaks,
    Olsen,
    Orco,
    Oldcastle,
    Pacific,
    Pavestone,
    Permacon,
    Phoenix,
    RCP,
    Red River,
    Rinox,
    Roadstone,
    Santerra,
    Shaw,
    Sierra,
    Silver Creek,
    Stepstone,
    Stonebilt,
    Stonecreek,
    Superlite,
    Techo-Bloc,
    Tremron,
    Trenwyth,
    Tricircle,
    Willamette Graystone,
    Willow Creek,
    http://www.glengerybrick.com


    2. Installation
    Due to their heavy weight, you might consider hiring a reputable contractor to install interlocking pavers.

  2. Brick Pavers are made with cement, sand, fine aggregates and water, mixed together and fired in a kiln at high temperatures to produce the finished product. Known to last a lifetime, brick pavers are highly versatile, durable and strong.

    Applications
    The main applications for brick pavers include driveways, pool surrounds, patios, sidewalks and walkways.

    Benefits
    Some of the benefits of brick pavers include durability and strength, flexible integrity, long term cost benefits, ease of repai, recycling, non-slip surface, fast installation, environmental responsibility, color integrity and low maintenance. In addition to their many practical benefits, brick pavers are extremely versatile and may be used in many different design variations and different settings to achieve a refined architectural appearance. Other types of clay paver shapes suit special requirements for such issues as noise reduction, water permeability, and grass growth. Nowadays, brick pavers are being molded into special shapes such as keyholes, fans, x’s and w’s

    Colors
    The colors of brick pavers are determined by the raw clay material, quarry, firing process and manufacturers’ additives. Brick surfaces may be varied with sand coats, additives and slurry or by changing the firing temperature. The “flashing technique” used during high temperature firing will make brick darker.

    Maintenance
    While it is not entirely necessary, you may wish to have your contractor seal brick pavers to protect them from dirt and discoloration. As time passes, if they become discolored or dull, simply wash them with soap and water and a high pressure hose and reseal once again.

    Designs and Shapes
    Instead of utilizing standard sized bricks for larger areas, consider utilizing a larger size brick paver because their proportion may be best suited to a larger scale area. Also, they are faster to install.


  3. Concrete Pavers offer an entire universe of paving design, color, shape possibilities, as well as a multitude of benefits and advantages.

    Applications
    Utilized in both commercial and residential applications, the most common residential applications for concrete pavers include driveways, walkways, pool decks and patios.

    Benefits
    The myriad benefits of concrete pavers include their unlimited styles, colors and designs, low maintenance, durability, safety, strength, versatility, adaptability to all weather conditions, flexible integrity, and ease of installation and repair. Interlocking concrete pavers offer flexibility, moving in unison with the earth below them, thus avoiding serious damage.

    Maintenance
    Concrete pavers are low-maintenance and offer low life-cycle costs. Pressure washing with cleaners or solvents is the best process for heavy dirt. Replacement of stained or broken pavers is simple. Herbicides and sealers may be utilized for weed and insect control. Pavers are simple to maintain with regular sweeping and occasional rinsing with a hose.

    Colors
    Color is an important issue in outdoor design and a powerful decorating tool that can visually expand or contract an area, add the impression of light or depth, warmth or coolness. You can reflect light and open up an area with lighter colors and make an area appear smaller with darker tones.

    Designs and Shapes
    Their design may also be employed to delineate specific areas or to add flow and beauty to a property. With concrete pavers, design possibilities are virtually endless, offering variations of architectural style, colors, shapes, patterns and blends. A classic concrete paver design is a multi-colored body with monotone edging. The multi-colored pavers hide stains and the edging provides a solidly defined frame. You can have pavers installed that echo architectural elements, or that play off the building materials of the house.


NATURAL STONE PAVERS:

Further categorized as local Ontario stone or imported.

Local Pavers (Canadian or American):

Local quarries stone

  1. Canadian Sandstone

    Sandstone Sandstone


  2. Canadian Limestone - Algonquin, Ebel, Eramosa, Indiana (USA), Kingston, Owen Sound, Riada, Wiarton,

    Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone Limestone

    Wiarton pavers quarried in and available in square cut, random sized, large random slabs and jumbo flagstone all in buff or black.
    Square cut is available in sawn with 1" or 2" thickness and 12", 18", 24", 60" dimension.
    Random flagstone from 3/4" - 1.5", 1" - 1.5", 1.5" - 2", 2" thickness, minimum 12" to 36" in irregular shapes and sizes.
    Large random slabs from 5" - 8" thickness and 36" up to 108" dimension.
    Jumbo flagstone from 1.5" - 3.5" thickness and 24" up to 60" dimnsion.
    Eramosa pavers quarried in and available in square cut and in light grey with dark grey swirls. Top surface can be sandblasted to enhance the color of the stone.
    Square cut is available in sawn with 1" or 2" thickness and 12", 18", 24", 30" dimension.


  3. Canadian Granite


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Imported Pavers (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Italy, China, Morocco, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey, United States of America)

  1. Sandstone pavers come in a variety of colors such as Beige, Bronte, Brown, Camel Dust, Chocolate, Grey, Flint, Fossil, Imperial Black, Ivory, Lavender, Mint, Modak, Multi Tone, Raj Green, Raveena, Red, Slate Grey

    Zara Beige Zara Brown Zara Bronte Zara Flint Zara Grey Zara Imperial Black Zara Lavender Zara Slate Grey

  2. Limestone pavers Buff, Kota Black, Kota Blue, Kota Brown, Silver Grey

    Honey Brown Zara Buff Zara Kota Black Zara Kota Blue Zara Kota Brown Zara Silver Grey

  3. Granite available in Beige, Black, Cream, Green, Grey, Pink, Red and so on. However, majority of granite pavers usually come in at least 2 color tones, such as grey - white, black - white, black & green, black - white - grey - pink, black - white - grey, brown - grey - black, green - whitish grey - black, etc. These pavers like other imported paving stones have their own unique names and could differ in their name from one importer to another.

  4. Travertine

Imported pavers are available in a variety of colors and sizes, however the most popular sizes are 12" x 24", 18" x 24", 24" x 24" & 36" x 24". These pavers are available with natural top, polished top, sawn and horned top, sawn and flamed top. Bottom usally is calibrated, sawn or natural. For square cut pavers, edges are either machine cut or rockfaced. For ranfom flagstone, edges are usually handcut. They also come in a variety of thickness of 1" to 2" depending on the type of laying (dry laying or wet laying) preffered. The most popular thickness range between 1" to 1.25". Some applications are front porch, backyard paving, outdoor kitchen, etc

The color variation in natural stone pavers can vary from one stone to the other due

A general overview of Canadian stone market and should be used with discretion.
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