Im looking for input on cost of pavers vs cement slab. My home has a front courtyard with red brick or red cement brick pavers and my rear yard has a concrete slab, broom brush finish with drain lines cut into the slab. The sides of my home have bark and stepping stones so I would like to connect the hardscape in the courtyard along the side to the concrete slab and then around to the other side.
A few questions for anyone that is knowledgeable:
1) How do you tell if your bricks are clay or cement (I attached an image)?
2) Assuming self installation of the same bricks vs paying someone to lay cement, which is a cheaper alternative?
My thought is I have two options:
A) I can install the brick along the sides and over the existing slab since the slab sits a good 4 inches below my sliding door on the back side of the home and this would make everything uniform.
B) I can install cement on the sides and color stain the existing slab and the new concrete on the sides. I could also stain the brick up front to a new color to match the cement color staining( i know this is possible just dont know how difficult it is)
Im a DIY type so I dont mind doing the installation of the pavers. If anyone has any recommendations/ resources for cement work or places to buy pavers, please let me know.
[img_assist|nid=14425|title=Back Patio Slab with side|desc=Back patio slab with sides of stepping stones and mulch (ugh)|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=67]
[img_assist|nid=14426|title=Red Brick courtyard|desc=Red brick or Brick Pavers. This is the only shot i have on this laptop at the moment so dont mind the halloween decorations.|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=67]
