Top 6 Benefits of Porcelain Pavers: The Perfect Choice for Your Outdoors

Have you considered changing your patio or driveway with new decking and landscaping material? When you think of porcelain, you’re probably imagining indoor tiles for bathrooms, but porcelain is among the strongest materials for your front lawn or pool. 

Porcelain pavers are a popular choice for their aesthetic appeal and increase in home value, but why do they have so much to offer?

This article will explore the advantages of porcelain pavers and why they should be at the top of your wish list for your upcoming project!

What are Porcelain Pavers?

The raw materials used to create porcelain pavers are combined in precise quantities and sequences to create a specific mix design, which is then dry-pressed into moulds using a pressing process. This creates the desired shape and dimensions. 

This removes the majority of the air and moisture from slabs, and this pressing process for porcelain pavers doesn’t use synthetic resin or chemical substances for bonding, so the purity of the material isn’t altered!

As a type of ceramic tiling at a standard thickness of 20mm, porcelain tiles are subjected to a higher firing temperature, resulting in a stronger, more durable product than traditional ceramic tiles.

The main difference in manufacturing is that it makes ceramic tiles less porous with solid water absorption, and the rate is less than 0.5 percent. This density, strength, and low water absorption make porcelain an excellent choice for traffic floor areas indoors and outdoors.

Modern outdoor porcelain, for example, is fired in a kiln, which helps prevent water from penetrating the tile's surface. Porcelain is composed of natural materials combined in a controlled environment to meet exacting standards, which allow for a precise fit and joint lines even when combining various sizes. After all, you don’t want uneven spacing.

At the end of the manufacturing cycle, technologically advanced machinery can make the porcelain slab perfectly square and orthogonal.

Benefits of Porcelain Pavers

Let's transition and dive into the benefits of buying porcelain and why you might prefer it over concrete aggregate.

1. Exceptional Durability: Built to Last

Why are porcelain pavers such a durable choice for households and commercial properties?

1. Chemical resistance. Porcelain tiles can resist acids, bases, salts, and are also resistant to pool additives and household detergents
2. Resistance to cracking, chipping, and shifting, even in high-traffic areas and heavy loads
3. Stain resistant due to being non-porous, so wine or coffee spills on your flooring can be cleaned without permanent discolouration!
4. Abrasion-resistant and can withstand scratches better than concrete pavers
5. Thermal shock resistance, including sudden shifts in temperature from -60 degrees Celsius to +50 degrees Celsius
6. Frost-resistant, able to handle thaw or freeze cycles and harsh winters
7. Slip-resistance as the surface of porcelain tiles can be made with a three-dimensional microstructure and with special grits that increase slip resistance
8. Light resistance: its colour will not fade or change even when exposed to direct sunlight due to its dense composition and UV-stable pigments. Your patio will maintain its vibrant colour at all times!
9. Fireproof, capable of handling extreme heat of over 1200 degrees Celsius for over 60 minutes. Porcelain tiles don't contain plastic or organic substances of any kind, are not flammable, combustible, and can't be damaged by cigarettes, embers, or boiling liquids

Porcelain is designed with textured surfaces to offer solid traction even when wet, so they're a great choice for areas around pools, patios, and walkways so your family can walk safely across even when it's raining.

2. Low Maintenance and Convenient

Similar to ceramic tiling, porcelain tiles are low maintenance and easy to clean. Unlike natural stone or wood (which needs regular cleaning and sealing to look their best) porcelain is basically maintenance-free!

Ceramic tiles are dirt and allergen resistant and don't harbour dirt, dust mites, bacteria, mould, pollen, fungi, or other irritants like some flooring types. These allergens can easily be wiped away, so allergy sufferers can really benefit from this paver option.

Bacteria need an organic substance to grow, and since ceramic is inorganic and fights against the growth of bacteria.

All you need to do is give them a weekly mop with soapy water or vacuum to keep your tiles stylish. As the density of porcelain makes tiles less susceptible to stains or damage, you don't need to worry about the growth of mould, mildew, moss, or using harsh chemical cleaners.

3. Versatile Options: Design Flexibility

Do you fancy traditional stones such as cream and beige or contemporary colours such as black or silver?

If you're tiling your bathroom, entire living room or patio, there is a wide range of styles, colours, and finishes for your project. Porcelain tiles are also in a number of finishes, such as glazed, polished, matte, and rock finish.

Outdoor porcelain is uniform in size, so you can install it with narrow grout joints and create a high-end, contemporary look for any home. With this in mind, what porcelain designs can you choose from?

Savannah Grey Porcelain Pavers

Want something sophisticated and a modern aesthetic to your home? The Savannah features a dark grey colouring with white speckling and lines throughout.

Dora Cloud Grey Porcelain Pavers

If you want to bring a serene look to patios, pathways, driveways, or pool surrounds, the Dora features soft grey tones with subtle white variations!

Bluestone Porcelain Pavers

Change up your pathway or patio with a flat, dark grey tone that offers a modern, sophisticated look to your commercial spaces.

Raw Silver Travertine Porcelain Pavers

For a classic look to pool surrounds or driveways, the Raw Silver has a beautiful texture and colouring, imitating natural stone!

If you would like further information on paver supply and install or details on our product range, have a read of paving solutions for pool decks and how to properly maintain your natural stone pavers!

4. Eco-Friendly Production

If you like to make sustainable choices regarding the materials you use, porcelain pavers have an eco-friendly production process.

Made from natural clay, sand and feldspar, porcelain is fired at high temperatures and doesn't need additional chemical treatments. As porcelain is made in advanced kilns, this process reduces carbon emissions.

As a long-lasting solution, porcelain doesn't need to be frequently replaced, reducing waste and lowering the demand for raw materials over time. Porcelain pavers are 100% recyclable and can be repurposed at the end of their life cycle instead of being thrown into landfills!

Lastly, the non-porous surface stops harmful chemicals and pollutants from being absorbed into it, so your outdoor or indoor environment will be healthy.

5. Cost-Effective

Although porcelain pavers have a higher initial cost, they are more cost-effective in the long term and justify the expense! 

Porcelain may be denser than concrete and require more time to cut, but its realistic look is worth it for many homeowners and commercial businesses wanting a premium flooring upgrade.

Since porcelain can be cleaned with household detergents and water, you'll ultimately save money on cleaning supplies or professional cleaning services.

6. Simple Installation

If you're a professional installer or a passionate DIYer, installing porcelain pavers is straightforward. As porcelain is precisely manufactured, its uniform thickness makes placement more accurate and consistent, unlike natural stone, which can vary in size.

Porcelain pavers can be installed over concrete, sand, or grass, so you can expect flexibility in a number of landscaping projects for pool surrounds, driveways, walkways, and patios. They can also be dry-laid or installed with adhesive, giving homeowners multiple options for outdoor projects. Mimic the look of wood, natural stone, or concrete!

Whether you're looking for natural stone pavers to support heavy foot traffic or outdoor porcelain pavers, Paver Shop offers a wide variety of choices for homeowners and businesses alike. Check out pool coping, stepping stones, crazy paving, and popular pavers such as Porcelain, Bluestone, Travertine, Granite, Sandstone, and Limestone!

Porcelain Pavers for Melbourne Properties: Choose Paver Shop!

Have you been searching for a one-stop shop for paving? Opening in 2019 and owned and operated by a trade professional with 20 years of experience in paving and landscaping, we are specialists in supplying quality natural stone products.

Regardless of your design preference or maintenance requirements, Paver Shop can find the ideal style, size, and finish to achieve the look you’d like.

From travertine or sandstone to surround your new pool or granite or limestone options to enhance your front porch, Paver Shop supplies pavers to Pascoe Vale, Taylors Lakes, Thomastown, Greenvale, Mill Park, and Brunswick, as well as homeowners and businesses across Melbourne. We also supply a great range of  sealers, cements, silicones, ox tools, and accessories!

With our strong trade background in quality installation, we can quote your property and/or recommend preferred installers to you, saving you time and money! We offer a “we come to you” service, so feel free to contact us at (03) 9462 4325 to request a quote.