Pool patio paver selection - am I overthinking it?

[steveg_nh]

We are trying to figure out which paver we want to use around our IG pool. 1300 sq ft. My wife and I are having a heck of a time picking a paver, but more so, which company to go with. Does it really matter that much? We like Venetian Stone from Pavestone, Palazzo from Rinox, and Urbana Stone by Belgard. All are the same compressive strength and the same water permeability rated (<5%).

Does the brand really matter? I like the Rinox pattern, and some guys say Rinox is better than the other 2, some say it's better than Pavestone, but not as good as Techo, but better than Belgard...etc. So many opinions. I know Rinox and Techo are both owned by family members (or ex family members) or something like that. Belgard suffered from quality issues years ago...

Am I way over thinking this? I admit that the Rinox 10" wide coping paver is very attractive vs the 6" available from Belgard. Much fewer joints. And Pavestone doesn't even havea 6" coping paver. I'd like to go with all the same company.

Any opinions? My builder says for my use, there's really no difference...they are all good. He does like the fact that the Rinox are made to canadian concrete standards, which he believes are a bit better than the US standards.

Thanks

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, overthinking a bit. Set in a sand base (right?), pavers are pretty forgiving so I would go with the one you like and will be functional. The other things you mentioned seem no important.

 

[steveg_nh]

Salt resistance is of course very important.

 

[bzeller]

I have Belgard Lafit. Like it a lot! We live in Austin and Pavestone is about 40 miles south of us. My installer had bad things to say about Pavestone quality. I don't think you can really go wrong either way. I had a few samples of Artistic Pavers and I REALLY liked them, but shipping put it out of my reach. If you can afford it or get some reasonable shipping, I'd go that route!

 

[duraleigh]

Salt resistance is of course very important.

Can you "measure" salt resistance?

Unlike a surface that is permanent, pavers can be removed and replaced if they suffer any salt damage,

 

[pooladdict]

I had pavers on my pool before redoing it with a cedar deck, they were a constant nuisance, always lifting or moving and the sand that can float up is annoying.

 

[jblizzle]

I had pavers on my pool before redoing it with a cedar deck, they were a constant nuisance, always lifting or moving and the sand that can float up is annoying.

Sounds like your pavers were not properly installed.

 

[steveg_nh]

Thanks all. We finally decided...I actually forgot I had posted this, when I posted another about bond/solider rows on the outside edge.

Anyway, we decide on a paver by Rinox. Rinox Palazzo Modulo, with 9x9 and 12x12 squares mixed in (install pattern 4 on their website). And we are using the 6x9" paver from the pallets for a solider row all around the outside. Can't wait for it to be done. Now the question is regular joint sand vs polymeric sand...