Paving slabs and blocks: how to order for a yard or driveway at a good price
The thickness depends on the load
The most important decision is the thickness. For footpaths 4 cm is usually enough. For a car in the yard people take 6 cm, and where trucks or machinery drive in, 8 cm or more. Thin paving under a car will quickly sink and crack, and no price justifies that.
The base is just as important: a prepared layer of crushed stone and sand matters for durability as much as the paving itself. So it is worth saying in your request at once whether you need laying.
Vibro-pressed or vibro-cast
Vibro-pressed paving is denser, with even geometry, and usually suits a yard and driveway. Vibro-cast comes in more complex shapes and colours, and is often taken for decoration and garden paths. There are also granite setts and clinker: they cost more but last long. Ask the seller about frost resistance and water absorption: outdoors these matter more than the shade. In the rainy season, a good drainage slope matters too.
How to order through BlaBlaPrice
You describe the area, shape and colour in one request, and makers and yards in your region answer in the chat with the price per sq m, and delivery and laying terms. Sellers see where their offer ranks among the others, so they adjust their terms, and you don't phone workshops. You share your contacts only with the one you choose. How it all works is on the How it works page.
What to put in your request
- What you need — paving, setts, kerbs, drainage channels.
- Area in sq m — with an allowance for cutting.
- Thickness and load — pedestrian, car, trucks.
- Shape and colour — for example brick pattern, cobble look, wave; grey or red.
- Technology — vibro-pressed or vibro-cast, granite, clinker.
- Kerbs — length in running metres, drainage.
- Laying — base preparation and fitting needed, or material only.
- Site address and budget.
Example: “I need 800 sq ft of grey brick-pattern paving, 6 cm, vibro-pressed, for a car driveway. Also 60 running metres of kerb. Toronto, delivery with unloading is needed. Budget up to $1.41 per sq ft.”
What to look at when comparing
Compare offers for the same thickness and technology. Ask whether the price per sq m includes delivery, and how much delivery on pallets costs. Check that the paving is from one batch: the shade can differ between batches, so it is better to take everything together, with an allowance for cutting.
Ask to see a sample and, if possible, photos of a finished surface. If you take laying, ask what the price includes: removal of soil, crushed stone, sand, compaction with a plate compactor.
Typical mistakes
Choosing paving only by the pattern and not asking about thickness. Forgetting the kerb and drainage: without them water destroys the base. Not counting an allowance for cutting near walls and flower beds. For metal parts and fixings, look in fasteners and hardware, and for other finishing, in the Finishing and cladding materials section.
