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When it comes to pavers, there’s no such thing as one size fits all. The choice between small and large paving stones for your Alexandria Bay, NY, project comes down to factors of aesthetics and practicality, both during installation and over the long term. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of both small and large format pavers to help you decide on which size is appropriate for your design.
Installation
Both large and small pavers have their own advantages during the installation process. Small pavers don’t require heavy lifting, so can be installed relatively quickly by a small crew laying at a high frequency. Larger pavers, on the other hand, cover more surface area at once, so can be installed relatively quickly by a small crew working at a slower pace. However, to really optimize the laying of both large and small pavers, a paver laying assist machine, such as the UniLyft by Unilock, can be used. The UniLyft renders heavy pavers weightless using a system of air pressure and vacuum, and can be used to lay multiple small pavers at once, making the differences in installation between large and small pavers negligible.
Related Read: 10 Patio Pavers with Warm and Inviting Color Options in Brewster, NY
Flexibility
Extremely loamy or silty soil can be especially prone to frost heaving. Over time, this can cause the displacement of driveway pavers. Smaller pavers create a more flexible surface which is less prone to damage caused by the movement of the ground beneath it. Smaller pavers also have a generally higher load-bearing capacity. However, these advantages can be extended to larger format pavers with the use of a geogrid system, such as the Unilock DriveGrid System. The DriveGrid System will also limit the amount of displacement that occurs with smaller pavers.
Style
Style-wise, large and small format pavers have a very different set of characteristics. Generally speaking, small pavers are ideal for creating an intimate, comforting setting, and will very often subscribe to a rustic or traditional aesthetic. A good example would be the look created by Unilock Courtstone pavers. Courtstone pavers are designed to resemble the worn cobblestones of quaint, old-world European village streets. Courtstone’s smallest size is a 5.125″ X 5.125″ square that is ideal for creating a tranquil patio, tucked away in the landscape, with a traditional look and feel.
Large format pavers, on the other hand, have a more open, expansive style, and are often associated with a more contemporary set of design principles. The impressive Beacon Hill Flagstone XL Unit, for example, is ideal for creating resort-like poolside patios that capture the attention and draw the eye outwards to the surrounding landscape, as opposed to focussing the gaze as smaller format pavers tend to do. As such, large format pavers tend to make an area appear larger, with fewer jointing lines to obstruct the gaze. To further reduce the appearance of jointing lines, a jointing sand can be chosen to match the shade of the paver. The Beacon Hill Flagstone XL Unit measures in at 20.875″ X 34.625″ X 2.375″, and is available in the colors, River, Sierra, Slate Blue, Walnut, Platinum, and Birch.
The title image features a Courtstone patio with Brussels Dimensional Stone fire pit and seat wall.
