Paving Designs in Johannesburg: Cobble, Garden, Herringbone and Permeable Paving

Paving designs combine a paver type with a laying pattern. Johannesburg homes choose from 6 main pavers (cobble, clay brick, concrete, natural stone, exposed aggregate, permeable or grass block) and 5 main patterns (herringbone, stretcher bond, basket weave, fans and circles, random or crazy-cut).

Paving Wiz Johannesburg lays every design below as part of its paving in Johannesburg, matched to the load, the drainage and the style of the house.

Paving Designs Compared

Guide A = Johannesburg paving cost guide; Guide C = Johannesburg paving installation price guide. Rates per m² are under paving prices in Johannesburg.

Cobble Paving

In Google Keyword Planner data for the City of Johannesburg (pulled October 2026), "cobble paving" shows about 140 searches a month, against 90 for "paving designs". Cobbles are smaller than standard pavers and often tumbled, which rounds their edges into an aged, stone-sett look. Charcoal and grey cobbles suit modern homes; sandstone and terracotta blends suit Tuscan estates. Fans and circles turn an entrance or turning circle into the centrepiece of a driveway.

Garden Paving

Garden paving covers paths, patios, braai areas and stepping stones. Paths carry feet, not wheels: Guide C excavates 150 mm for paths against 200 to 250 mm for driveways. Clay brick suits face-brick homes, stepping stones set in lawn suit informal gardens, and a patio falls away from the house so rainwater runs off. Paths across lawn are edged so grass stays out of the joints.

Modern Paving Patterns

• Herringbone pavers. Blocks laid in a zigzag interlock along their edges. A 2026 Johannesburg paving guide describes herringbone-laid pavers as resisting shifting better than standard layouts.
• Large-format slabs. Wide slabs with narrow joints give a clean, contemporary look on patios and pool decks.
• Contrast borders. A charcoal soldier course around grey pavers, or brick around tar, frames the surface.
• Mixed sizes. Random-size modular pavers break up a large area without a busy pattern.

Style Families: Classical, Contemporary, Mediterranean and Traditional

Borders, Edges and Transitions

A soldier course or contrasting border frames the paving, hides the cuts and sits on the edge restraint that stops the paving creeping. Guide A prices concrete edging at R80 to R150 per linear metre and a brick soldier course at R120 to R200. Every transition is a level question: lawn, house, garage door and street each set a height.

Levels, Falls and Turning Space Come Before Pattern

The design fixes where water goes before choosing a pattern: paving falls away from the house and never onto a neighbour. A driveway allows a car to turn without crossing the garden, and keeps a clear sight line to the street when reversing. Estates and complexes set material and colour rules before an application.

Paver Thickness and Size

Standard paving bricks are 50 mm thick, and commercial paving can need 80 mm, according to a 2025 national guide that adds R20 per m² for every 10 mm of thickness. Guide C prices 60 mm pavers R20 per m² above 50 mm and coloured pavers R15 per m² above grey.

Permeable and Grass Block Paving

Johannesburg's Stormwater Management By-law, 2010, section 1, defines impervious surface to include walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots, concrete or asphalt paving and even a gravel road with a compacted sub-grade. The same section classes any development that creates or adds 500 m² or more of impervious surface as a major development. Permeable pavers and grass block pavers are designed to let rainwater pass through wide joints or open cells into the base below. How much soaks away depends on the base and the soil, which are checked on site. Guide C's comparison table puts permeable pavers at R280 to R500 per m². Grass blocks need full sun and regular mowing to stay green.

Exposed Aggregate and Crazy Paving

Exposed aggregate concrete is poured, and its top cement paste is washed or brushed off before it sets, revealing the stone. Guide A puts it at R300 to R500 per m² installed. Crazy paving fits irregular stone pieces together with mortar joints, and suits garden paths and pool surrounds better than driveways, where tyres loosen the small pieces.

Paving Blocks on the Sidewalk

The JRA's Roads and Stormwater Manual, Code of Procedure section 2.14.6, requires new concrete paving blocks used to reinstate sidewalks to comply with SANS 1058:2012, and new precast concrete paving slabs to comply with SANS 541:2004, each "as amended or replaced from time to time", with cast in-situ concrete of Class 25/19. The manual is dated 2015, so the current editions are confirmed with the JRA. A design that continues onto the sidewalk is planned around that block standard, with a wayleave first, as set out under driveway paving in Johannesburg.

Paving Wiz Johannesburg: Frequently Asked Questions