Landscape Paving with Porcelain Pavers

Archatrak porcelain pavers offer landscape designers and contractors a choice of colors and styles, unmatched by any other landscape paving option. With colors ranging from bright white, through creams, browns, and greys to charcoal black, and styles that simulate wood, cement, travertine, slate, marble, terracotta, terrazzo, metal and more, there’s undoubtably a color or style to suit practically any outdoor environment, no matter if you’re seeking a modern, classic or rustic look.

And with cobblestone blocks as small as 4” x 4”, cobblestone pavers from 8″ x 8″, wood-look planks up to 96″ long and 12″ wide, slabs as large as 48″ x 96″ and even hexagonal shaped pavers, there’s surely a size to suit any application.

Plus, our porcelain landscape pavers are resistant to frost, staining, fading, mold and mildew, and exceptionally low maintenance. And with our extra strong, 3cm thick T30 porcelain pavers, you have even more options for vehicular applications.

The laying options described below illustrate the exceptional versatility of porcelain pavers in any landscape paving application.

Installation over compacted sand or gravel

T20 (2cm) porcelain pavers can be laid directly over well compacted gravel with a top layer of leveling sand for most residential applications and for commercial applications with moderate pedestrian traffic. For more heavy-duty applications including areas subject to light vehicular traffic, the thicker T30 porcelain pavers are generally a better option for landscape paving.

Use tile spacers to ensure consistent spacing and alignment, preferably with a flat base. The flat base prevents the spacers from becoming loose and helps to keep adjacent tiles at a consistent level. Install a containment barrier around the entire area to prevent the pavers from moving. Fill gaps between pavers with polymeric sand.

See our guidelines on installing porcelain pavers over sand or gravel beds for further information.

Installation over existing concrete

Existing concrete surfaces such as patios, balconies, terraces etc. can be quickly and easily resurfaced by simply using stackable rubber pads placed under each corner of the pavers. Our ¼” high ETE-PAD6 and 3/8” high ETE-PAD10 rubber pads can be placed over practically any existing concrete surfaces, even cracked concrete, provided the pads are not placed across any cracks, which could create some instability of the pavers over time. Pad supported pavers allow water to flow away freely underneath, so there’s no pooling of water on your patio and less potential for growth of moss.

Our rubber support pads won’t slip or slide like plastic pads and the rubber composition acts to reduce noise transmission and provide an extra degree of shock protection.

On sloping substrates where a perfectly horizontal surface is required, pads can be stacked across the area, up to a max. of approx. 1 1/2″. Our 1/16″ thick LGH2 rubber shims can be used to provide fine adjustment where necessary. Beyond this height, adjustable height pedestals are typically used.

See our guidelines on installing porcelain pavers over concrete for further information.

Laying pavers over grass

Square, rectangular or hexagonal porcelain pavers make excellent landscaping pavers, paving stones or stepping stones placed within grassed areas. Hexagonal pavers in particular make very striking paving stones for defining a pathway. Longer plank style pavers can also be used very successfully in larger grassed areas as illustrated opposite, to create striking landscape designs.

While pavers can be laid after removing the surface grass and roots only, for better results, remove a few inches of soil and partially fill with sand. Compact the sand, level the surface and lay pavers sufficiently deep to avoid any possible damage to blades when mowing.

See our guidelines on laying porcelain pavers over grass for further information.

Laying pavers over concrete in a mortar bed

For commercial landscaping with pavers in areas subject to high pedestrian traffic or moderate vehicular use, mortar set installation over a prepared concrete bed, reinforced as per local codes, is generally the preferred installation method for T20 porcelain pavers.

Our thicker and much stronger T30 (3cm) porcelain pavers are also a great option for commercial landscaping applications and may not require mortar set installation requirements, depending on the application.

Porcelain landscape pavers should be laid using appropriate size spacers, ensuring pavers are not laid across expansion gaps which could cause the pavers to crack over time. Fill gaps between the pavers with cement-based grout.

Some paver colors are available in a range of different sizes, enabling a more random laying pattern to be designed as illustrated opposite with Archatrak ‘Pennstone’, which is available in 12″ x 12″, 12″ x 24″, 12″ x 48″, 24″ x 24″ and 24″ x 48″ sizes.

See our installation guidelines on laying porcelain pavers over concrete with mortar for further information.

Cobblestone block & paver installation

For dramatic landscape paving full of character, cobblestones never fail to make an impression. Archatrak offers two options in porcelain cobblestone paving.

Cobblestone tiles – Rustic look, 8″ x 8″ or 12″ x 8″ tiles, 3/4″ thick with textured surface and hammered edges, reminiscent of hand-hewn stone blocks. They can be laid over well compacted sand or gravel beds or for driveway applications, they should be laid using mortar over a reinforced concrete base. Archatrak also supplies cobblestone sized pavers in both 3cm and 5cm thickness, including pavers which have inbuilt nibs on all sizes to facilitate laying and provide precise spacing.

Cobblestone blocks – Small 4″ x 4″ blocks 2 1/2″ thick. These blocks resemble a traditional stone cobblestone except they are precise in all dimensions to permit much faster installation than stone blocks. Cobblestone blocks can be either dry laid on a bed of sand or gravel over a prepared concrete base and joints filled with polymeric sand, or for maximum stability, laid in a cement/sand mix over a prepared concrete base and joints filled with either polymeric sand or cement grout.

See our installation guidelines on installing cobblestone pavers over concrete with mortar for further information.