We live in a newly built house (1.5 yrs old). The house has a 15ft x 6ft concrete porch in the front that we would like to cover up, along with the sides of the porch, since we don't like the look of concrete. We will also redo the steps and landing area, likely with interlock. We have been told by one contrator that covering the porch with would work fine. Another contractor told us that they would not work since in the winter moisture would get underneath and lift the stones. This contractor said flagstone would work better since the spaces between the stone can be sealed with mortar. We were also told that covering the porch with patterned concrete would not work either since it would probably begin to crack in a couple of years.
Answer:
There is precious little difference between the mortar line in flag stone and the patterned concrete - basically, they're the same thing. Certainly the pavers would heave when water got under them but water would also get under the other two suggestions. I'd probably get in touch with someone who has a good selection of pool deck coverings in various materials and go with one of them.
Courtesy of Ren Molnar, Construction Consultant at HomeFocus.com. I can also be reached at (613) 748-3003 and Home Focus – The Radio Show is broadcast live 8 to 10 A.M. (Ottawa, Ont. time) on Saturdays on www.cfra.com. In the interests of retaining credibility and in fairness to all, I cannot recommend prices, people nor companies for various projects.
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