If you are building or renovating your outdoor living space, the selection of building materials, colors, and styles is huge. That variety can overwhelm and confuse. Today, we hope to give you an advantage when considering: travertine pavers vs brick pavers.
Understanding the life and maintenance of these materials is essential. As a wash and seal company, we clean and protect a lot of driveways, patios, lanais, walkways, and pool decks. In order to do that with superior skill and achieve professional results, we need to know all about the surfaces we service.
For your convenience, we have outlined
- the cost
- return on investment
- durability
- and maintenance
of these two materials to help you make an educated decision about your exterior design and construction.
Travertine Pavers vs Brick Pavers – Cost
Let’s face it! Unless you’re extremely wealthy, the price tag of an enormous home exterior project is important. It’s a significant investment that should be carefully considered. You don’t want to blow your budget on something you don’t love, especially if you won’t be receiving any love back (ROI).
Brick pavers cost considerably less than natural stone travertines because they’re manmade on demand. You will spend approximately $6 per square foot in the Tampa Bay area of Florida to have them installed.
Natural stone materials need to be quarried, shaped, packed, and shipped out worldwide. This process isn’t easy and that racks up the price. If you choose to have travertines installed, you will spend approximately $10 to $12 per square foot in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
Travertine and Paver Return on Investment
If you plan to sell your property in the future, you’ll be pleased to know that according to the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Landscape Professionals, an outdoor living space finished with brick pavers will give you a return of over 65% and one finished in travertines can earn you up to an 80% return.
But the more you spend does not always increase your home value. Your property value is still tied to your location and neighboring properties. Always do your homework before tackling that project for a high ROI.
Stone Travertine Durability
If you are looking for something that will last a millennium or two, then without a doubt, you’ll want stone travertines. They are known to last many decades if not thousands of years. For reference, think about the Roman buildings that are still standing today. Anything you build in travertine will be the longest-lasting portion of your entire home.
Stone travertines might seem like the Superman of building materials, but Floridian weather and Italian weather are completely different.
Travertines are made of calcium carbonate and its “Kryptonite” is moisture and acid, including lemonade, wine, ketchup, or pickles. Unsealed calcium carbonate has a highly porous surface and the holes can cause it to be vulnerable to wear and tear. Even the slightest exposure to acidic liquids will stain it.
When you have travertines, you need to be prepared to hire professionals like those at Premier Pro Wash & Seal to fill those pores and seal the stones every few years. Especially in Florida, with such high humidity and heavy rainfall, owners of travertines must be vigilant in regular maintenance practices.
Brick Pavers Durability
Brick pavers are made of clay, cast in forms, and heated until solid. They are sturdy too, just not Roman colosseum sturdy. Brick pavers will last a lifetime, but they will probably need some repair here and there. They will be resistant to your morning orange juice (no acid sensitivity), but chip more often and eventually wear down.
Brick is more porous and less dense than travertine. That means that in those rare moments when Florida experiences freezing temperatures, the water inside of the brick will expand as it turns to ice and cause the bricks to break. This is why sealing is so important.
But if you take care of them, your pavers will remain looking like new for 25+ years. They are known to last 100 years or more with regular maintenance.
Travertine and Brick Paver Maintenance
This is the one subject where both travertines and pavers are equal. Both will need to be sealed every 2-3 years or so to protect the surface and renew their natural color.
Shield your investment from the brutality of Florida weather. Hurricanes won’t just damage our homes, they’ll damage our travertines and pavers too! Even when the skies are clear, these materials are in danger — UV rays will bleach them if given the chance.
So if you live in the Tampa Bay area and it’s been about one year after your project’s installation, get in touch with Premier Pro Wash & Seal, and we will help you protect your investment and keep it looking like new.
If you already have pavers or travertines and their appearance is less than desirable, they may just need to be washed and sealed. The transformation that a professional cleaning treatment and sealant can accomplish is incredible. It might be all you need to restore your curb appeal and increase the beauty of your home.