Here is what we we’ve seen over the years as the differences between these two materials:

Because of the materials a concrete paver is made from it is more die-friendly than clay, which means it will accommodate a greater variation of size and shape than clay. You can have concrete pavers in the shapes of circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, or just about any other shape one can imagine.  With clay you really only have one choice: Hollandstone (rectangle).

Most clay pavers when made, are made by folding the clay over and over lengthwise before pressing them into rectangular form. This aligns the platelet-like clay particles, so that when the pavers are fired in a kiln, the effect is to create a ‘grain’, much like a piece of wood. This grain produces weakness points or seams where they are more likely than concrete to chip or crack. This may be desirable in some clay paver projects, but not in all. Concrete has no such ‘grain’, and as such is a better choice structurally when considering pavements that will receive vehicle traffic, like driveways or streets. And with some clay pavers, a top surface treatment has made the faces of a few affected pavers ‘pop’ off the top ¼", leaving a rough surface beneath. But this has been rare.

Colorfastness. Not to be confused with color choices. We’ll discuss that next. This is the biggest issue we address when discussing paver material options. And also the area with the greatest amount of misinformation. The current wisdom is that clay has color ‘all the way through it,’ while concrete only has pigment in the top portion. Here are some facts:

• Most concrete paver manufacturers make their pavers with pigment mixed all the way through. (There are a few that make a top piece with pigment and a bottom piece without, but their numbers or so small we won’t address them here) So the argument of ‘color all the way through’ doesn’t really apply. However, what does apply to concrete pavers is UV and traffic, and their effects on concrete.

• Have you ever seen a driveway that was 30 or more years old? Did you notice how you could see a lot of the aggregate (stone) peeking out from the concrete? When concrete is poured, it has aggregate stone spread homogenously throughout the mix. But as that mix is worked into the forms and flattened, a ‘cream’ comes to the surface, hiding that aggregate. But little by little, over a period of years, traffic on the pavement wears tiny particles of that top layer, exposing the aggregate underneath. This is what happens with concrete pavers, too. That cream and pigment are slowly worn off the surface of the paver, exposing a sometimes white colored aggregate, giving the appearance of ‘fading’. Some manufacturers make their pavers with a darker aggregate so this is less noticeable. And while this isn’t really fading, it is changing the appearance of the paver. This process can be slowed with the application of an acrylic sealer. Many of these sealers also help protect concrete pavers against UV breakdown of pigment, though this is much less of an issue compared to simple wear and tear.

• Many clay paver makers sell pavers that do, in fact, have color throughout. And most of the time it's the same color as the one you see on the top of the paver. There are also times when the center is gray, while the rest is brown. And often in sand-molded clay pavers, the pigment is only in the top 1/8" of the paver. You can see the top color of these two pavers is very different, but the inside is virtually the same. So when choosing this type of paver we like to make sure the client will like it now, and later when the pigment begins to wear off.

Color Choices. Concrete paver colors range from grays and charcoals, to reds, oranges and browns. The choices are limited only by the mixology abilities of manufacturers. Despite that flexibility, they have not seemed able to duplicate the warmth of colors that clay pavers can offer. Clay pavers are dominated by earthtones, browns, oranges, tans and reds. They are slightly muted relative to concrete colors.

Texture. There are some concrete manufacturers that have surpassed clay in creating a palette of different paver textures.  But until recently, you only had one choice with concrete pavers: smooth or smooth. Clay pavers can provide different textures for different aesthetics and traffic needs. You can get sand-molded clay pavers that look as though they were installed 100 years ago. You can have extruded clay pavers that look every bit as smooth as their concrete cousins, but with the warmer tones that come with clay. There are wire-brushed clay pavers that provide superior traction for foot traffic (though it occasionally comes at the price of comfort).

Price.  Though there are exceptions to every rule, in general clay pavers are more expensive than concrete.  And while this difference can sometimes be substantial, on average brick choice affects the price of a project by no more than 15%.