A sustainable type of wood Pavers for Your Driveway, Patio, Walkway and Home
This is a wood pavers guide for your home landscaping project. Whether you are looking for a paving material for driveways, walkways, tree pits, patios or terraces wood pavers are a great sustainable alternative to concrete. We will be discussing what is the best type of wood materials, features, colors and installation to help you make an informed decision on elevating your home with wood pavers.
What are wood pavers?
Wood pavers are little blocks of wood used to create driveways, patios, walkways, etc. They are a sustainable alternative to concrete and other materials such as brick and rubber. Wood pavers have been used for prominent architectural projects for the past decade and homeowners have started catching on to the design trends. The main reason behind the growing trend is for wood pavers’ sustainable qualities and their natural beauty. Not only do wood pavers look much better than regular concrete slabs but they are also permeable which help reduce flooding and heat island effect.
What is the best wood material for home pavers projects?
The best type of wood to use for exterior paving projects for your home is Black Locust wood. Black Locust wood has natural longevity of 50+ years. It has rot-resistant, and anti-fungal properties without the help of toxic chemicals.
Compared to asphalt and concrete Black Locust wood pavers are minimally processed during manufacturing. This results in CO2 emissions being greatly reduced. Its carbon footprint is much lower than any manmade product available. In fact, no oils, stains, or paint are necessary to maintain its beauty. This makes Black Locust a perfect type of wood material for sustainable architecture.
How strong are wood pavers?
You might be wondering how strong wood pavers are. We measure the strength of surfaces in PSI (pounds per square inch). The higher the PSI the better. Poured asphalt has a compressive strength of 3,000 PSI and concrete pavers have a compressive strength of 8,000 PSI. The wooden Black Locust pavers blocks, however, exceed 10.180 PSI. This video shows a 60-ton crane driving over ProFlow Permeable Pavers™ made of Black Locust wood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXOlo8VUgmw
What are wood pavers used for in homes?
Wood pavers are used for many parts of a home, especially outdoors. The most common uses are as follows:
- Driveways
- Patios or terraces
- Walkways
- Tree pits
What wood paver modular layouts are available?
ProFlow Permeable Pavers™ come in modular layout panels or in other words: setts. Each sett is made up of 7-25 wooden blocks each of which are all attached to a recycled wire mesh. This allows for a modular design that lays flat for easy installation.
How are wood pavers installed?
The paver panels can be laid next to each other for quick and simple installation over large areas. They are then fastened with a filler of your choice. For the most durable result we recommend using ROMEX®’s unique Flex Joint grout to fill the joints between the wood pavers.
To achieve a durable home paving surface, make sure your filler has the following features before installation:
- A permeable joint filler
- Secure the pavers in place
- Flexible to withstand expansion and contraction
- Low maintenance, only occasional pressure washing required.
- No loose grit.
This will ensure your wooden home pavers last for years to come without you spending summer days picking weeds out of their joints or re-sweeping loose grit. Check out this video by Romex that shows a step-by-step guide on how to install ProFlow Permeable Pavers™ with a Romex joint filler.
What color are wood pavers?
Since no oils, stains, or paint are necessary to maintain the beauty and durability of Black Locust, upon installation the wood will have a yellow to light brown appearance. Due to exposure to the natural environment, Black Locust pavers will develop a silver-gray patina after some time.
It is also possible to give the wood pavers a black finish with a special Shou Sugi Ban technique, an ancient Japanese technique for preserving wood. The process involves charring the wood surface until it turns black. While Shou Sugi Ban was originally used to weatherproof wood, it has recently become popular as a rustic, textural design element for homes. Since Black Locust is naturally rot-resistant, darkening its surface is only for aesthetic purposes.
To sum up…
A wood paving material made of Black Locust is a perfect alternative to concrete when selecting a material for your home’s driveway, walkway, tree pits, patio or terrace. Due to the modular design it is easy to install and has a natural beauty that no manmade material can surpass.
