Pavers are known for being one of the best flooring elements in hardscape. This is due to their cost-effectiveness, long-term durability, and easy maintenance. But exactly how much does it cost to have pavers installed in 2024?
This is a hard question to answer objectively. It really depends on a multitude of factors. These factors include the sheer size of your project, the type (and quality) of the pavers you end up choosing, the labor cost, and the cost of other materials you might need.
Usually, all these factors are calculated and added up to the final cost of the project, which roughly stays around $3,400 for a typical 280-square-foot patio. But, to actually answer the question, we first need to discuss all of these factors separately.
Read also: Cost of driveway pavers in 2024: buying guide
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How much does it cost to have pavers installed? An important question
Before tackling all the factors that influence the cost of paver installation, we need to ask you a very important question: are you planning to do the installation all by yourself or hiring someone to do it for you?
This is a very important question you need to ask yourself before moving forward. We say that because the value of your time and your labor can only be defined by you.
Make no mistake about it, installing pavers is a demanding job. A simple one, yes, but costly in energy and time. The better you want your installation to be, the harder you will have to work on it. In the end, it is up to you to determine how much your hard work is worth.
Keep that in mind as we discuss the cost of more tangible things in the next sections, and then we get back to that at the end.
Preparation
The first thing you need to consider is the actual place you are planning to install your pavers. You will have to do some digging and buy different types of bedding, sand, and geotextile fabric even before starting the actual installation.
| Material | Cost |
| Road Base | $0.65/sq ft |
| Geotextile Fabric | $0.39/sq ft |
| Bedding Sand | $0.32/sq ft |
| Joint Sand | $0.11/sq ft |
| Total | $1.47/sq ft |
Bear in mind, that this only covers the materials you are going to acquire. It doesn’t cover all the tools you will need, like a hammer and shovel. We are also not considering the pavers themselves yet, that comes in the next section.
Pavers
Pavers are what this is all about, right? So it stands to reason that we talk about them in a separate section.
When it comes to pavers, you have a lot of options. And options within these options. You can choose between different materials, styles, and colors. The options are virtually endless, depending on your supplier.
Of course, some options are more expensive than others. Here is the average price of the most common types of pavers.
| Material | Cost |
| Brick | $2 — $8/sq ft |
| Concrete | $3 — $6/sq ft |
| Natural Stone | $1 — $3/sq ft |
| Slate | $5 — $10/sq ft |
Again, these options are just the tip of the iceberg. Inside each of them, there are still lots of choices you can make. This is just an average calculation taking into consideration the most basic version of each paver.
It depends on where you are getting your pavers. Some places charge more than others, and some types of paver will be of superior quality. There’s really no easy way to know, you’re going to have to do a lot of research to secure the best possible price.
Size of your project
The last thing that influences the cost of having pavers installed is the size of your project. No mystery here, the bigger the project, the more costly it will be.
You probably have already noticed that so far we talked about the cost of things per square foot, right? With everything we discussed previously, now is just a matter of measuring the area you want to install your pavers, and you will have a starting point to calculate the price of your project.
How much does it cost to have pavers installed: some examples
Let’s say you have a 280-square-feet space. This is your starting point.
Without even thinking of pavers, you know you will have to spend at least $1.47/sq ft only on the preparation materials. So your starting price is roughly $411.60.
Now is the time to add the price of pavers. Let’s pretend you bought the cheapest paver possible, which would be a simple brick one for $2/sq ft. That will translate into a price of $560, only on the pavers.
Adding everything up, we end up having an estimated cost of $971.60 for the whole project.
On another example, now you have a 1000-square-foot patio to work with. That space will cost you $1470 to be prepared. This time you want the best concrete paver you can buy, so you’re going for the top end.
The most expensive concrete pavers in the market will usually cost around $6/sq ft, so you will have to spend around $6000 on pavers alone. In the end, to cover your entire 1000ft area with beautiful concrete pavers you will spend around $7470.
Read also: What is the cheapest time of year to pave a driveway?
The DIY actor: is it worth risking it?
Again, and this is very important, so far we only discussed the price of materials and not the actual labor involved in installing pavers.
If you’re planning on doing the installation yourself, the best-case scenario is that you’ve done it before, or at least watched closely someone else does it. In that case, you won’t have to research the entire process and know fairly well how the installation should go.
In the worst case, you have no idea how to do the project yourself. You’re going to spend a fair amount of time just looking for information, to only then start with the DIY installation.
In either of those cases, if you’re not a professional, there’s still a chance to make some mistakes. And we all know that mistakes are costly, sometimes a lot costly, and those mistakes can also influence the final price of the installation.
So, the two last incalculable factors involved in the cost of having pavers installed are mistakes and time.
Mistakes are unpredictable and there is simply no way to know what can go wrong, from a DIY point of view. The value of the time and energy you’re going to invest, only you can tell, and only you can define if it’s worth it or not.
Read also: How Much Does it Cost to Clean and Seal Pavers in 2024?
DIY x hiring professionals
Short and simple, hiring professionals to do the installation is always the best choice. They know what they are doing, they have done it a thousand times – they have worked on several projects, with different conditions, and have probably dealt with many unforeseen consequences.
The best part is that they work at a fixed price, so you will always know how much you’re paying for the installation with the reassurance that, in the end, you will have a job well done.
If you happen to be around Sarasota, FL, you’re in luck, because the best professional on the field can be found at JSBrick. They have more than 20 years of experience in the installation of pavers and are more than capable of helping you with your project.
Give them a call right now at +1 941 586 9140 for a free estimate on your paver installation.
