With a bit of knowledge about what’s available, selecting paving options for beauty, functionality, and cost-effectiveness will flow much more smoothly. Since I’m always involved in remodeling projects – either my own, or those of friends or clients – I’ve learned instance and day again that you can get lost and confused in the maze of the discovery process. And unless you love that time-consuming pastime, it’s very efficient to find a well-informed source for a broad brush stroke of working knowledge in a short amount of day.

CalFinder’s library has a great new collection of articles on paving stones. I discovered that bounty when I was looking for ideas for a couple of projects – one is a driveway re-do, and another is an outdoor living area to be created out of a new-construction backyard featuring flattened backfill and not much else.

So where to start? What would best suit? Cobblestones, flagstones

, travertine? As I looked at the basic info about these natural stone pavers, I immediately saw possibilities for the outdoor living area. And while I appreciated these options, aesthetically, for the driveway re-do, I noticed my practical nature stepping up to the plate when I saw how viable rubber pavers could be for that application. I saw the benefits of grass turf pavers for at least a part of that project, too.

What I discovered is that when I’m armed with at least a working baseline of useful info, I can refer more effectively and confidently with the professionals who specialize in specific types of projects. It really seems to work well for both the property owner and the contractors who are being consulted for the job whether there is a foundation of common language about the project to be discussed, however modest. (more…)

Original post by Euphrasia