Which paving stone to choose – a short pre-purchase guide.

1. Firstly: match styles.

To make the house and the surface around it coherent, we should choose paving stones or slabs and the way they are arranged according to the style of our property:

• If the design of your house is dominated by geometric shapes, right angles, large glass panes and terraces, choose large or extra large paving stones and slabs in subdued colors that have a more austere look.
• Let the surface made of them reflect the simple or minimalist character of the building and take regular forms with right angles and shapes. However, do not be fooled into thinking that the regular is monotonous. Surfaces of this type often surprise us with a combination of interesting arrangements and patterns.

• If the architecture of your house is rather traditional, with a gable or multi-hipped roof, columns, porches or dormers, you should choose large, medium or small paving stones.
• Use them for making surfaces reflecting the character of the building – mostly with gentle contours, without sharp ends, dominated by soft lines and curves.
• Allow yourself to enjoy the classic elegance of washed surfaces or the beautiful expressiveness of color melange, choose paving stones with straight or irregular shapes and surfaces, which refer to nature, use delicate paths and patterns.

2. Secondly: purpose.

It is important because of the choice of product thickness and thus reducing the possibility of cracking under inappropriate loads. Concrete surface is most often chosen for sidewalks, terraces, finish trims around the house, driveways and car parks. On surfaces intended for walking, you can use paving stones and slabs that are 4-5 cm thick. If the movement of passenger cars is planned on the surface, you need to choose 6-7-centimeter products. Truck traffic requires the paving stones to be used on the surface to have a minimum thickness of 8 cm.

3. Thirdly: size of the elements.

Broadly speaking, we can divide paving stones and slabs into: small; medium; large and extra large. The choice of the most proven sizes is supported not only by visual considerations, but also practical ones: the paved surfaces should be comfortable to use, and their laying should not generate large costs.

• Small and medium paving stones will work well for narrow and small areas (alleys, finish trims around the house, decorative finishing patterns) because they allow for precise laying without the need for cutting, and therefore without costly rejects,
• Medium and large are better choices for more extensive surfaces such as driveways,
• On a terrace, for practical reasons (easier cleaning) and comfort of use (positioning furniture), large and extra large terrace slabs work best. The latter are also often used for laying modern walkways.

4. Fourthly: the color scheme.

It should be chosen according to the simplest rules: in order to avoid chaos, it is best to limit yourself to 2 – 3 colors of paving stones or slabs, which match the color of the roof, facade or other dominant element in the surroundings. Darker shades and color melanges will work better where the paving stone is exposed to more dirt.