Cobblestone Courtyard Ideas old world look with new world budget

by andre
(connecticut)

Here'a a question regarding cobblestone courtyard ideas when granite is just too much money!

We are building a house and wanted to do something nice with the driveway... the look of the house is very french/estate and has a courtyard. Anyway, after getting the cost of belgian block back for the courtyard my jaw hit the floor and I think we're going with gravel for now!! So I started doing some research and found your site. You mentioned Travertine etc as alternatives with that cobblestone look. Is it a good product? Cheaper than cobblestone ? Ideas? thanks...

ANSWER

Yes, cobblestone, which is granite, can be very expensive. Just out of curiosity, was your estimate dry laid or wet laid. Dry laid is much less costly.

Although it's been said that travertine is OK for a driveway if you use certain types, I wouldn't chance it. Besides,you can do more creative things for a courtyard, such as...

1. Do the courtyard out of tar and chip. You can read about it here. Tar and Chip Driveways


You can then edge it with belgian block curbing.

2. Use asphalt and add belgian block edging along the perimeter...perhaps two rows. (You wouldn't want to do this with tar and chip because the material would get onto the granite.) These would be flat and you could add (an option) the belgian block curbing. You can also have them cut in a circle of belgian block in the center. This makes a more interesting design and also uses less materials.

3. Consider tumbled pavers that look like cobblestone either for the entire courtyard or used as mentioned above. They would be muc cheaper. These are driveway sketches, but you could use them for courtyards also. Paver and Granite Ideas

Another nice idea if you went with an idea that used less materials is to add a few seat walls for interest...you might be able to swing this if you save on the other.

I had a client that wanted to do their entire driveway in granite. They did wind up doing the courtyard but it had a large cutout with a fountain. The remainder of the driveway, which was very long, was done in tar and chip with the granite curbing. It looked great.