How do clay pavers compare to other hardscape paving materials?

Choosing hardscape materials can be daunting, given the multitude of manufacturers and brands in the market. However, clay pavers stand out with their exceptional durability, aesthetic appeal, and low-maintenance nature. They excel even in the most challenging environments and climates. What sets them apart is their low environmental impact, from clay extraction to production and transport to care, making them a sustainable design choice. The process used to manufacture Belden Clay Pavers produces a product with through-body color, low absorption properties, and creative flexibility with a wide range of colors and styles. No sealers or color enhancers are needed, and standard ice melt products can be used without affecting the pavers. A surface installed properly with Belden Clay Pavers is virtually maintenance free.

 
How have the manufacturing methods of your products (or specific line of products) changed over the years?

The Belden Brick Company has evolved a lot since 1885 by combining modern technology with our heritage of quality craftsmanship, making us the Landscape Architect?EUR(TM)s choice for generations. Our craftsmen in Sugarcreek, Ohio have been successful, and continued innovation has enabled us to expand our selection of shapes, colors, textures, and larger format pavers. We still use centuries-old methods to manufacture distinctive textures and exclusive colors that only we can achieve. For example, our Beehive Series Paver collection features a signature color palette unique to The Belden Brick Company?EUR(TM)s beehive kilns firing process, and our highly desirable Utopian Series Pavers have a one-of-a-kind, imagined, coarse-grind texture that no other clay paver manufacturer can provide.

When using clay pavers to design outdoor spaces, is the type of paver a Landscape Architect chooses important?

The designer needs to consider that space?EUR(TM)s intended use, select the appropriate type of paver, and detail the proper construction application and setting bed. ASTM provides standards for pavers depending on the intended use, and pavers manufactured in the United States must comply with consensus standards published by ASTM International. Two ASTM standards provide the requirements for clay pavers for exterior use: ASTM C902: Standard Specification for Pedestrian and Light Traffic Paving Brick, and ASTM C1272: Standard Specification for Heavy Vehicular Paving Brick. We manufacture a wide range of extruded and molded clay pavers ideal for high-strength industrial, commercial, and residential paving applications.

Do you offer products that provide environmental benefits?

Permeable clay pavers help reestablish a more natural hydrologic balance and reduce runoff volume by trapping and slowly releasing precipitation into the ground instead of allowing it to flow into storm drains and out to receiving waters as effluent. Not only are they durable, aesthetically pleasing, and low maintenance, but permeable paving also has a strategic component of sustainable design. Because clay pavers are drought-tolerant, they allow water and moisture to seep into the ground, which means more water is available for plants and less water makes it into the storm drains. In addition to reducing the runoff from the rain that falls on them, Permeable Pavers can help filter out pollutants that contribute to water pollution, making them increasingly popular among municipalities with aging wastewater systems and homeowners looking for resourceful, beautiful ways to go green. This eco-conscious paver is ideal for walkways, patios, driveways, plazas, parking lots, and other high-traffic areas.