1-1/4 Inch Pavers

1-1/4", known at the quarry as 3cm, is the most-ordered thickness in natural stone paving and the one with the widest color and size range. It is the right specification for a mortar-set installation over a sound concrete slab carrying foot traffic. Where it is not the right call, the answer is 2" (5cm), and the difference matters more than most other decisions on the project.

Specify 1-1/4 inch when

• The pavers are being mortar-set or thin-set over an existing concrete slab or a new pour.
• Traffic is people and furniture, not vehicles.
• The climate does not go through hard freeze-thaw cycling.
• Height is constrained, at a door threshold or against an existing pool beam, where three quarters of an inch matters.

Use 2 inch instead when

Anything drives on it, the pavers are sand-set with no slab underneath, or the ground freezes and thaws through the winter. Those three conditions are not negotiable, and a 1-1/4" paver in any of them will crack. See 2" pavers for the range that covers them. Everything else being equal, 1-1/4" is lighter to handle, covers more ground per pallet and comes in more colors.

The range at this thickness

1-1/4" carries the broadest selection we stock: tumbled travertine, leather and sandblasted marble, and brushed limestone. Sizes run 6x12, 12x12, 16x16, 12x24, 16x24, 24x24, 24x36, 24x48 and 36x36. The French pattern sets, which combine four sizes into one repeating layout, are supplied at this thickness.

Getting the install right

A 1-1/4" paver relies entirely on what is underneath it, so the slab needs to be sound, clean and properly sloped before anything is set. Cracks in the slab telegraph through. Use the right setting material for exterior stone rather than standard interior thinset, and leave the movement joints where the slab has them rather than bridging over. The buyers guide covers base preparation and joint spacing in more detail. Matching pool coping is available at the same thickness so the deck and pool edge sit flush, and it is worth ordering a sample before a pallet, since natural stone varies lot to lot. Browse by color at ivory or beige.