Do pavers fade? What actually happens to colour over ten years

Concrete pavers change over a decade. Understanding which change you are looking at determines whether anything can be done.

Efflorescence

A white bloom in the first year as salts migrate out during curing. It is temporary, it clears, and it is not fading.

UV softening

Pigments soften slightly with sun exposure, most visible on strong reds and charcoals and on south-facing areas. Modern pigments hold far better than those from twenty years ago.

Surface wear

Traffic and plows abrade the top surface, exposing more aggregate and changing the tone. Through-coloured units handle this far better than surface-coloured ones.

What helps

Sealing restores depth of colour and slows wear. Choosing blended colours rather than a single flat tone also means change reads as character rather than as patchiness.

Materials we use