Concrete patio vs pavers in Florida: which should you choose?

The short answer

Choose concrete if you want a clean, continuous surface with few joints. Choose pavers if you like the look of individual units and want the option to lift and reset a section later. Neither is the clear winner in Florida. Both do well on a good base, and both fail on a bad one.

One note for fairness: Hildebrand pours concrete patios. Pavers are not one of our listed services. We will explain concrete honestly, and we treat pavers as a real option too, so you can choose what fits your yard. If you pick pavers, get quotes from an installer who does them.

How they are built

A concrete patio is formed, poured and finished as one slab. Control joints are cut or tooled into it on purpose, so that any cracking happens along the joint instead of across the middle of the slab. See our concrete patio page for how we build them.

A paver patio is made of separate units set on a compacted base with sand in the joints, usually with an edge that holds the units in place. Because it is made of many pieces, the base and the edge restraint do most of the work.

Cracks, settling and repairs

This is the biggest practical difference.

• Concrete can crack. A slab is one piece, so a crack is repaired as a crack, and a badly settled slab may need to be cut out and replaced. Joints in the right places and a well-prepared base lower the risk.
• Pavers can settle in spots if the base was poor or water washed out the sand. The upside is that a settled area can be lifted, the base fixed, and the same pavers set back. A stained or damaged unit can be swapped for a spare.

Keep a few extra pavers from the same batch if you go that way, since colors vary between batches.

Water, drainage and Florida rain

Summer rain is heavy in Florida, so ask where the water goes. A patio should shed water away from your house and not toward the walls or the slab of the home. Ask each installer how the surface will slope, where runoff ends up, and whether it avoids your neighbor's yard.

On pavers, ask how the joints are filled and how they will be kept in place. On concrete, ask where the control joints go and how the edges are finished. Good answers are specific. A vague answer is a warning sign.

Look and feel

Concrete can be left plain, brushed for grip, or finished with color or stamping. Pavers come in many shapes, colors and patterns, and the pattern is part of the look. Both get hot in direct sun. If you walk on it barefoot or have a pool, ask for a sample and set it out in the sun for an afternoon before you choose.

Cost and permits

We are not printing a price per square foot. The national figures we found conflict with each other, and none is a local price. We also will not guess at paver prices. Get a written quote for your patio size and finish from each installer you consider, with the same size, shape and finish on each.

Permit rules depend on where you live and on the size of the patio. See our guide on the concrete patio permit in Manatee County.

When each one tends to fit

• Concrete tends to fit when you want a clean, continuous surface, a larger flat area, a simple shape, or a slab that other things sit on, such as a covered lanai or an outdoor kitchen.
• Pavers tend to fit when you like a pattern or a more detailed look, when you want curves, or when you want the option to lift a section and reset it later, such as around buried lines.

These are general rules, not guarantees. Your yard, your drainage and your budget can change the answer.

Questions to ask any patio installer

• How deep will the base be, and how will it be compacted?
• How will the patio slope, and where will rain go?
• For concrete: where do the control joints go, and what is the finish?
• For pavers: how are the edges held in, and how are the joints filled?
• Who fixes it if it settles or cracks in the first year, and is that in writing?
• Is the contractor licensed? You can check at myfloridalicense.com.

Good answers are specific. If an installer cannot explain the base and the drainage, keep looking.

How Hildebrand handles concrete patios

Hildebrand Construction & Remodeling is a family-owned Florida licensed general contractor in Palmetto (Certified Building Contractor, license CBC1257253). We pour and finish concrete patios, walkways and slabs, and we can tie a patio into a bigger plan under outdoor living areas, such as a covered lanai.

We offer a free on-site estimate with no trip fee, pull every required permit, and give you a written estimate. The price does not change without your written approval.

Questions homeowners ask