Clay pavers or ceramic slabs: which option is right for your garden?

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Clay pavers and ceramic slabs are both excellent choices for driveways, garden paths and patios. Both are made from clay, but they differ in appearance, dimensions, installation and maintenance requirements.

Last updated on Aug. 24, 2026

Clay pavers and ceramic slabs are both made from clay. This makes them extremely strong and colourfast. However, their production methods and clay compositions differ significantly. Clay pavers are primarily made from river clay, while ceramic slabs are typically produced using quarried clay. Their dimensions also vary. Paving bricks have a characteristic brick shape and are usually between 50 and 90 mm thick. Their practical size allows for creative patterns and versatile designs. Their greater number of joints also helps rainwater drain away naturally. Ceramic slabs are typically larger, with square or rectangular formats. The slabs are around 20 mm thick and have a hard, anti-slip top layer.

The biggest difference is in appearance. What atmosphere do you want to create in your garden? Clay pavers have a timeless, natural appearance and add warmth, character and timeless appeal. This makes clay pavers perfect for any kind of garden. Thanks to their larger format, ceramic slabs create a sleek, contemporary look, which makes them ideal for a modern garden. Sometimes they can be hard to distinguish from natural stone, creating a refined, modern aesthetic. Do you have tiles in your living room? Then continuing the look to the outside can create a seamless appearance. You don’t have to choose. A combination of clay pavers and ceramic slabs can also be very attractive.

Another major difference between clay pavers and ceramic slabs is the way in which they are laid. Installing clay pavers is relatively straightforward. You need to make sure that you have a level base of sand and you can lay the pavers in your chosen pattern. You can easily remove them and reuse them with ease. Ceramic slabs are a little more involved. You need to lay them on a draining foundation with a layer of drainage mortar on top. You then bond the slabs and fill the joints with joint mortar. As they are bonded down, it can be difficult to reuse them again later.

Laying garden paving

Clay pavers: a sustainable material with Dutch heritage

Clay pavers are a truly authentic Dutch natural product. Clay bricks and pavers have been used for streets and buildings in the Netherlands since the fourteenth century. Across the Netherlands, clay pavers and bricks remain a recognisable part of villages, towns and public spaces.  That gives the clay paver that familiar look. Our major rivers give us a constant supply of new clay. River clay is therefore a renewable material. In addition, clay extraction can contribute to the creation of new nature areas. Since clay pavers have a lifespan of more than one hundred years, they can rightly be classed as sustainable construction materials.Ceramic slabs are often imported and can be more difficult to reuse. This makes them less sustainable than clay pavers.

All clay pavers

Each material has its own character and unique features. Nevertheless, clay pavers have a number of benefits over ceramic slabs: