Paving Designs in Durban: Cobble, Slasto, Herringbone and Permeable Paving

Paving designs combine a material, a laying pattern and a border. Herringbone sets rectangular blocks in a zigzag at 45 or 90 degrees, cobbles and slasto give an irregular, older look, and grass blocks leave open cells where part of the rain soaks into the ground. Patterns add R15 to R35 per m² in a Durban installer guide (November 2025).

Paving Wiz Durban lays every design below on homes across eThekwini, from Umhlanga and Westville to Hillcrest and Amanzimtoti.

Paving Designs and Patterns Compared

A Western Cape guide (July 2026) names curves, circles, contrasting borders and diagonal patterns as the layouts that add cutting time and waste, and a straight herringbone field with a simple border as the value point.

Design Materials Priced per m²

Guide A's rates include common labour and basic ground preparation; guide B does not state its scope. Colour and special patterns add R15–R35 per m² (guide A), or R600–R1,400 on 40 m².

Cobble Paving

Cobble paving uses small, often tumbled units with rounded edges for an aged look. Concrete cobbles come in mixed greys and earth tones, and natural stone cobbles add weight and texture. Cobbles are laid as a full surface, or as a border and soldier course around brick or tar. Simulated cobble costs R500 to R750 per m² in the Western Cape guide.

Slasto Paving and Flagstones

Slasto paving is split slate laid as crazy paving: irregular flat pieces fitted together and bedded in mortar. It suits patios, garden paths, steps and pool surrounds. Flagstones are larger flat slabs, natural or cast, laid in a regular or random grid; natural stone and flagstone run R850 to R1,500 per m² in the Western Cape guide and from R700 per m² in the Durban installer guide. A paving manufacturer's maintenance guide lists algae, moss, oil and polishing as slip hazards on paving, and the Durban installer guide notes that natural stone in coastal zones requires sealing, so slasto is kept clean and sealed as set out under paving cleaning.

Herringbone and Monoblock Paving

Monoblock paving is the rectangular interlocking concrete block. Laid in herringbone, each block sits at right angles to its neighbour, and a soldier course of the same block, or a contrasting colour, frames the edge against the edge restraint. The Western Cape guide specifies 60 mm or thicker blocks on surfaces that carry vehicles, and the Durban installer guide prices the step from 50 mm to 60 mm at about R20 per m².

Exposed Aggregate and Modern Paving Patterns

Exposed aggregate is poured concrete with the surface paste washed off before it sets, which leaves the stone showing. Modern paving patterns use large-format slabs, long linear planks, two-tone bands and grass strips between slabs. These concrete finishes serve poured and stamped concrete driveways and pool paving.

Garden Paving and Edging

Garden paving covers paths, patios, stepping stones and braai areas, on 50 mm pavers for foot traffic. Patios fall away from the house, and planting beds beside paving sit below the paving level so soil does not wash onto it. Kerbs and edge courses set in concrete haunching hold every design in place; the Durban installer guide adds 10 to 15 percent for edging.

How a Paving Design Is Planned

1. Measure. Record the area in m², the levels and where the water runs.
2. Zone. Separate vehicle areas (60 mm blocks) from foot areas (50 mm).
3. Pattern. Choose the field pattern, then the border and soldier courses.
4. Colour. Match pavers to the roof, walls and coping; colour upgrades add R15 to R35 per m².
5. Drainage. Set falls, channels and any permeable or grass-block zones.

Permeable Pavers and Grass Block Paving in eThekwini

Permeable pavers have open joints or a porous body, and grass block pavers have open cells filled with soil and grass, so part of the rain passes into the ground instead of running off. On the eThekwini Stormwater Management By-law, 2020's own wording they still count: section 1 defines a hardened area as all paved areas, roofed areas, surfaced driveways, pool surrounds, semi-permeable or impermeable structures.

For developers and consultants seeking subdivisional approval, eThekwini's Coastal, Stormwater and Catchment Management Department sets flood attenuation criteria: storage that reduces the peak discharge rate for developed site conditions to the pre-development rate, with facilities designed for the 1:10, 1:50 and 1:100-year flood. Those criteria govern development approvals; they do not mean every home paving job needs an attenuation facility.

Tar is the plain alternative, set out under tar driveways in Durban, and pattern prices by guide sit under paving prices in Durban; full-property work is under paving in Durban.

Paving Wiz Durban: Frequently Asked Questions