Patio season is winding down, but the planning isn't. In Google Trends, the fastest-rising US searches linked to "pavers" over the past month include "pedestal pavers" (+70%), "slurry pavers" (+70%) and "natural stone pavers" (+40%). People are pricing next spring's patio now, and they're running into words that weren't on the pallet at the home center a few years ago.
Here's what they mean, and how to work out what you'd need to buy.
Porcelain pavers: the new kid on the patio
Outdoor porcelain pavers are porcelain tiles made for the outdoors. They are typically 2 cm (about 3/4 in) thick, which tile retailer TileBar notes is twice as thick as a normal porcelain tile. They're dense and weather-resistant, and they come in convincing stone, wood and concrete looks.
Compared with classic concrete pavers:
| Porcelain pavers | Concrete pavers | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical thickness | 2 cm (3/4 in) | 2 3/8 in (60 mm) is common for patios |
| Common sizes | Large squares and rectangles, e.g. 24 × 24 in | Small units, e.g. 4 × 8 in, plus larger slabs |
| Looks | Stone, wood, concrete, marble | Colored concrete, tumbled, textured |
| Cutting | Wet saw with a porcelain blade | Masonry saw or splitter |
What "pedestal pavers" means
A pedestal install raises the pavers on adjustable plastic supports at the corners instead of setting them on sand. It's popular on rooftop decks, balconies and over existing concrete, because water drains straight through the gaps and you can level an uneven slab without regrading it. Pedestals need a solid, sloped surface underneath, such as a concrete slab or roof deck. They aren't meant for bare soil.
And "slurry pavers"?
This one is mostly a mix-up of two words. Slurry primer is a bonding coat used when porcelain is set on a full bed of mortar, the traditional method in the UK. Porcelain barely absorbs water, so mortar alone doesn't grip it. The installer brushes the slurry primer onto the back of each paver and lays it on the wet mortar so the two bond together. Without it, porcelain set in mortar can come loose.
If you're laying pavers on a sand-and-gravel base or on pedestals, which is how most US patios are built, you don't need slurry primer at all.
The base matters more than the paver
Whatever you pick, most failures start underneath:
- Patios and walkways: usually 4 to 6 in of compacted crushed stone, plus 1 in of bedding sand
- Driveways: usually 8 to 12 in of base
- Slope: about 2% (1/4 in per foot) away from the house so water runs off
- Edges: use edge restraints, or the outer rows will creep
Building this fall? Watch the thermometer
If your plan includes a new concrete slab (for pedestals, or a mortar-set porcelain patio), cold weather changes the rules. The American Concrete Institute's cold-weather guidance (ACI 306R-16) says:
- Cold-weather rules apply when the air temperature falls, or is expected to fall, below 40°F during the protection period.
- Fresh concrete must be protected from freezing until it reaches at least 500 psi.
- Never pour on frozen ground. When the ground thaws, it settles and the slab cracks.
- For slabs under 12 in thick, ACI recommends the concrete be at least 55°F when it's placed.
Insulated curing blankets and heated mix water from the ready-mix plant are the usual fixes. A dry-laid paver patio on a gravel base is more forgiving: you can build it until the ground freezes.
Fun fact: Go big and the paver count collapses. A 12 × 12 ft patio takes about 713 classic 4 × 8 in pavers, but only 40 porcelain 24 × 24 in pavers, both with 10% extra for cuts. The gravel base is the same either way: about 2.8 tons at 4 in deep. Try your own patio, circles included, in the paver calculator.
Your shopping list, in order
- Measure the area (and draw any curves; the calculator handles circles and odd shapes).
- Pick a paver size and run the paver calculator for pavers, base stone, sand and edging.
- Pouring a slab first? The concrete calculator gives you bags or cubic yards.
- Ordering gravel in bulk? The cubic yard calculator converts depth and area into yards and tons.
Sources
- TileBar: How to install porcelain pavers
- Melton Stone: What is slurry primer, and do you need it?
- For Construction Pros / ACI: Mastering cold weather concreting
- Google Trends, US, past 30 days: rising searches related to "pavers" (checked October 15, 2026)