Concrete is wonderful stuff, but it isn't very user-friendly. Yes, it's easy to pour. Yes, it can be shaped or formed to follow intricate curves. Yes, you can even create a pond or fountain using it. But, the problems begin when you try to make a smooth, uniform surface. Concrete is unbelievably strong. For a price, concrete can be designed to withstand the most awesome of nature's forces. But again, it isn't user-friendly. We like concrete, but for the do-it-yourselfer, precast concrete is quite a bit better and easier to use.

Where most patios and walkways were once made of concrete, rock or brick, we now see a new breed of products that are lighter in weight, stronger, easier to install and less expensive, too. They are concrete blocks and concrete bricks (pavers). Interlocking or not, concrete bricks offer the best of all worlds to the do-it-yourselfer.

Morris' son Rick purchased a home about 10 years ago and began to landscape the yard. There were trees to plant, shrubs to grow, lawn to seed and swings to hang. We visited one day and found a completed patio that he had created by himself using interlocking concrete pavers. In a couple of weekends he had leveled the sand, compacted it and installed the entire patio surface. No mortar or concrete was mixed or used. The joints between each piece contained sand. How simple can you get? Rake out a surface, wet it, tamp it, rake it again and lay out the pavers. Today, a decade later, that patio looks as good as it did the day it was installed...level, unstained and weed-free. No bumps, no humps and no cracks. If the grade beneath the deck ever heaves or sinks, Rick will simply remove the pavers, add or subtract sand, compact it (with water) and replace the pavers. It's a forever patio.

We went to the Internet and typed “concrete pavers” into our web search engine. We found 53 sites. Some weren't appropriate, but most had to do with pavers.

Here are a couple that looked good: www.nantucketpavers.com and and www.paverdepot.com.

Tricks that ensure a good installation include a solid subgrade and one that is evenly graded so that water will shed off the surface and away from the house. Adobe and other types of soil that turn to goop when it rains are not fun to build upon whatever the patio will be made from. But when adobe is the base, dig deep and fill with sand. Six to 8 inches or more. The sand will buffer the effects of the adobe and the surface will stay smoother longer. We would recommend the same procedure (or something similar) for concrete. Soil that tends to move up and down can be a problem for any deck or patio. Contact a soils engineer in your area for recommendations. You might even want to contact your local building department. Some have standard construction plans available at no charge.

If you live on solid soil (sand is about the best) all you have to do is level it, wet it and lay the stone.

One other thing you'll want to check on. Some pavers come with edge pieces and others don't. The ones that don't come with edge pieces might have to be cut to get a straight line at the perimeter of the deck. If you want to reduce cutting, make sure the stone you choose comes with edge pieces.

If edge pieces aren't available and you have fallen in love with the stone, you can use a circular saw with masonry blades to make the cuts. Actually, it is almost as easy as cutting wood.

Concrete blocks used for pavers, decorative walls, and now “stair-stepped” retaining walls are the wave of the future. They are strong, inexpensive and user-friendly.