Stone Cobbles are unique to the UK and many Olde World villages and small towns still have authentic cobble streets. They became popular as a road building material in the 1400s but date back as far as Roman Times.
Unfortunately, for both the Tudors and Romans pattern imprinted concrete wasn’t available. Would they have been strong enough to install it, anyway?
Traditional stone cobbles measure anything from 3 to 10 inches (76.2- 254mm) and are laid on a bed of cement and sand. Cobble driveways are a niche driveway surfacing product, and more associated with the country than suburbia. They are without doubt beautiful to look at, especially real shiny granite cobble.
Please look at the video below to see a traditional cobble lay.
Great job boys!
Stone Cobbles vs Pattern Imprinted Concrete – Installation
Any cobble installation will take a lot, lot longer than a pattern imprinted concrete installation. Many cuts have to be made to cobbles and if this is done by hand (the traditional way) it is very time consuming. In comparison pattern imprinted concrete installations can usually have a start to completion time of 5 days.
Stone Cobbles vs Pattern Imprinted Concrete – Durability and Maintenance
Both products are durable and offer a solid and stable surface. Patterned concrete will need to be resealed to protect the colour from fading caused by UV in sunshine. Cobbles will not fade! But re bonding the joints between individual stone cobbles is very important to stop moss and weed growth.
Stone cobbles (with moss and weed growth)
Stone Cobbles vs Pattern Imprinted Concrete – Cost
On a square metre basis traditional cobble will cost between £30-40 (just for cobbles – no preparation or labour) and pattern imprinted concrete will cost between £80 – £120 (all in).
It is also worth noting here that it is best to source stone cobble that has been quarried in the EU rather than cobble imported from places such as China and India.
Stone Cobble Pattern Imprinted Concrete (no moss or weeds)
As you can see a lot of decision making will be based on cost.
For those that prefer the authentic cobble look, price will not matter.
But if you are looking for a lower cost, easy installation with low maintenance (and not to mention easier walking) choosing pattern printed concrete may be for you!
Look at the cobble patterns available may be for you!
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