is pavers with concrete together to make a patio OK?

by mar
(Clinton Township, MI - USA)

Here is a question about using pavers and concrete together!

A few years we had a brick paver 12" x 12" patio put in. Now I want to expand it greatly - to put a connecting walkway alongside 2 sides of the pavers and to expand it to about 20-25' x 25" but instead of using pavers because of cost, I want to use concrete or something like it, while also leaving in the previously put in paver patio and not take it out.

Is it ok to put the two together - paver patio and concrete or some kind of blocks and look ok? Any ideas for a design? For the size I need to expand, paver cost is out of question for the additional size I need nor can we do it ourselves. Not an option. Please advise. Thanks. Mar

ANSWER

Yes, you can expand it with concrete. In addition, here is an idea that would unify the project and also not be too expensive. Add a paver border to the edges that matches your existing paver patio to the expanded areas. This can simply be one row set either the long or short way. I don't know how wide your pavers are so I can't advise. The pavers can be dry laid to keep cost down, even though the rest of the areas will be concrete.

From the dimensions you gave me, it seems that you will have a 4 foot walkway along the sides of the patio and then an additional 13 foot at the other end. If this is the case, you might consider adding a double row at he end of the 13 foot extension since this will be a larger area.

Here is a page on my site showing the use of pavers and asphalt. It might give you the idea. Paver Driveway

I would prefer concrete rather than blocks. Blocks are typically not used for hardscape surfaces.

You can also color the concrete to give it a nice tint. The color should be mixed in with the loose concrete before it is applied (not applied on top of the concrete!) You can also create nice squares in the concrete by scoring it. This is different than stamped concrete. Take a look here: Concrete Patio Design