Paving Designs in Pretoria: Patterns, Cobbles and Permeable Pavers

Paving designs come down to three choices: the paver, the pattern it is laid in, and whether rain runs off or soaks through. An example bill of quantities in the national Department of Public Works' dolomite manual lists 80 mm, 30 MPa interlocking blocks "laid in stretcher or herringbone pattern".

Paving Wiz Pretoria lays cobble, herringbone, modern and garden paving designs for homes across Tshwane. Prices and services are summarised under paving in Pretoria.

Paving Designs Compared by Pattern

What Design Complexity Costs

Premiums from a Pretoria contractor's design guide (guide E, April 2026); the 36 m² column is arithmetic. Base rates per m² are under paving prices in Pretoria.

Herringbone Paving

Herringbone lays rectangular pavers at 45° or 90° in a zig-zag, so each block sits against its neighbours in two directions. An example bill of quantities in the national Department of Public Works' dolomite manual (PW344/2017, Annex U, Section 15 "Segmented paving") lists 80 mm grey 30 MPa interlocking blocks, or 50 mm 30 MPa paving bricks, on 45 mm of uncompacted bedding sand, with filler sand of less than 1.18 mm, "laid in stretcher or herringbone pattern". Edge restraints and cutting units to fit them are separate items in the same bill, which is why borders show as their own lines in a quote.

Cobble Paving

Cobble paving uses pavers with tumbled, rounded edges, often two or three sizes in one layer, so the surface reads like an old street. Cast-stone cobbles and flagstones run R350 to R550 per m² in guide C (February 2026), and cobblestone R500 to R900 per m² in guide A (November 2025). Charcoal and grey cobbles suit modern estates, and earthy blends suit face-brick homes.

Guide C (February 2026) lists the slab and cast-stone figures beside its installed rates; guide A (November 2025) does not itemise inclusions for cobblestone.

Modern Paving Patterns

Modern paving patterns use larger units and straight lines: long plank pavers in stretcher or stack bond, large-format slabs with narrow joints, and two-tone layouts with charcoal border bands around a light infill. Large concrete slabs run R350 to R500 per m² in guide C. Soldier courses, a single row of pavers along the edge, frame each area. These designs carry over to the front of the house under driveway paving in Pretoria.

Crazy Paving and Exposed Aggregate

Crazy paving fits irregular pieces of stone or slab together like a puzzle, bedded in mortar, with no repeating pattern. Exposed aggregate is concrete whose surface layer is washed back to reveal the stones in it, which gives a textured finish for paths and pool surrounds.

Permeable Pavers and Grass Block

Permeable pavers have wider joints or open cells filled with stone chips, and grass block pavers have holes filled with soil and grass. Both let rain soak into the ground instead of running off. On dolomite that needs care: the City of Tshwane's 2025 council report names concentrated water ingress as the main cause of sinkholes, and cites South African research in SANS 1936-1:2012 reporting that 96% of recorded sinkholes and subsidences were man-induced. Ask for a geotechnical view before laying permeable paving on a dolomite stand, as set out under paving in Centurion.

Choosing a Paving Design for a Pretoria Home

Colour follows the house: clay and earthy cobbles with Highveld face-brick, charcoal and grey with plastered Tuscan and modern homes. Patios and pool sides fall away from the house, covered under pool coping.

Paving Wiz Pretoria: Frequently Asked Questions