just my personal thoughts...as far as maintenance, I prefer the composite deck boards.

Pavers collect things, seedlings, dirt, mildew. they never stay as neat as you want.

I also prefer decking for any elevated area, more options to finish, band board, trim, rail, etc.

I wouldn't call 17 x 20 large, once you have furnishings, especially seating for a crowd, little room left. an image would be nice, do you have a large area around the pool?

Stone looks better than wood and it's more durable. Stone needs to be placed on compacted solid ground, so it sounds like you would need a lot of fill dirt.

If you really think you will want an outdoor kitchen at some point then it seems like pavers are the way to go. You can always have steps down to the patio. I would be concerned about fill compacting after the fact. If a stone or paver patio is laid properly (on pretty deep layers of crushed stone and gravel) it will last a long time. It's hard to predict what future prospective buyers will like. Just like the commenters here, you might find they're split between preferring one or the other. If you expect to be in this house a long time build for yourself. Someone will always buy a well maintained house priced correctly.

I supposed I feel that 17x20x4 is quite a large area to fill for a raised patio, a lot of dirt and aggregates! That said, we have the ground level area around the pool that “crowds” can also go to, so space isn’t the issue here.

The more “modern” pavers look like the attached pictures. They don’t seem like they would collect things. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We should remember that composite decking is not exactly wood and does not require the same sort of maintenance a 100% wood deck would and with an extended lifespan...typically 25 years or more! And for ease of installation and to reduce cost if you are surfacing an elevated area, a deck makes far more sense than does a flush-with-the-ground paver patio. 17'x20' is a BIG area to fill and that's going to be much more labor intensive than constructing a deck. And you might be surprised about what can pop up between those paver joints, even as tight as they appear to be in the photos!

As to which "looks better", that is entirely a matter of personal choice :-) Same with a broad appeal and resale value. Tough to make what are essentially subjective value judgments that will vary according to location and neighborhood.

" around 3-4 feet at the highest section, area. "

What would you do for a railing?

I recommend consideration of usage and desired furnishings/storage, then plan your size. How many individuals, dining or socializing, full kitchen or grill and possibly refrigeration? Firepit? Utilities - electricity/gas/water.

As a helpful referance, our paver space is 24x26 with an additional 8x12 that once contained a hot tub, now a bistro table for two. Grill space is approximately 5x9. Firepit is roughly an 8’ radius. Patio is accessed via a small egress deck.

https://youtu.be/H5t9G-Gujqw

I’ve had pavers and brick. Personally, I would never do concrete pavers again because the color never looks as good over the years, the sand gets washed into the pool, and the weeds constantly need spraying. Note, my pavers are regular brick size. Brick always looks the same, except that you will still need to pressure wash it to remove mildew.

I don’t know anything personally about composite maintenance, but if it’s in the budget, it would be my choice.

I saw the most beautiful composite decking at the 2019 Southern Living House Tour. On the back patio, they used two different colors and it was beautiful. See photos.

Best wishes.

Here’s the area where we would Iike to build the deck/paver patio (first pic). This is an older pic, the old hot tub on the right side is gone. The deck/raised patio will the rectangle area right outside the door, all the way out the left outer corner.

The railings we have in mind is iron and cable railings. See second pic on how the railings would look like with a composite deck.

A raised paver patio looks like the 3rd and 4th pic, again imagine it with iron and cable railings. The wall will look more like 5th pic. We like a smoother surface in dark charcoal/grey, almost like light black. The paver surface will basically look the last pic.

An outdoor kitchen can be built on a composite deck but we’d have to carefully preplanned the structure, with serious consideration on its load bearing capacity. A paver patio is like a retaining wall structure, we’d have more freedom to build a fireplace/fire pit, kitchen, etc. in the future. In terms of load bearing, it’s a non issue.

5th and 6th pics

This is where the architect, and the builder and the landscape/hardscape folks AND you develop the plan. You do that on the site.

You don't do it here, with "sort of like this" picture references.

It's a marriage of materials, function, climate and what is appropriate to the elevations in both looks and dimensions and what where. It ISN'T a simple question of patio paver versus deck.

That said? I happen to detest composite decks, and they are slippery as all get out when WET. jmho.

JAN MOYER, Goodness gracious, please do not comment or patronize people with stupid comments stating the obvious! I wasn’t trying to make any PLAN on this site. I was trying to show commenters who are not familiar with the look of newer/modern pavers. As I stated from the very beginning I’m familiar with all the ins and outs of the choices as I do have a team of professionals I work with. I am simply undecided on the look and feel of my options. It’s a very subjective question and I’m hoping to hear from people who have had both or have personal experiences with both. Have you had personal experiences with both? If not, why butt in? If you have no experience or opinions, please don’t patronize, moderate or try to control a free public board, with obvious, angry, useless comment to boot! Ha!

Yet, After scolding me for asking harmless question of “hey, which do you like better?” In the end you DO have an opinion. In turns out you could just say “ I happen to detest composite, they’re slippery,” and that would be enough and perfect! SMH!

Pavers will last longer and be less maintenance.

I would never do pavers again. They are set in polymeric sand, which all the landscapers will tell you hardens like cement when wet. BUT it wears away after a while and the weeds take hold. We were constantly pulling weeds out of the cracks between the pavers. Also, insects can get through--we had lots of ants coming up through the cracks as well. Same with bricks that aren't mortared in.

After having both pavers and bricks set in sand, we opted for bluestone set with mortar joints, and couldn't be happier with it.

Haven't had composite decking, but I can imagine that it is slippery when wet.

@Diana Bier Interiors - would love to swap out my pavers and bricks for Bluestone. Do you have a supplier you can recommend or photos to share?

I have pavers in front of the garage and a walkway in front of my home and agree with @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC. It's an older installation (about 20 years) and while it was done well (no settling), weeds pop up in between the pavers which are a pain to control.

I have several wood decks around the house and, of course, they are a maintenance issue. I've been at the home of a friend who has a composite deck and it is slippery (more so than wood) when wet.

As far as durability goes, my previous home had a concrete patio that was in very good condition and it was over 50 years old. I had it pressure washed every few years to get the leaf stains out and it looked good as new. Not upscale, of course.

@Karen I'm in the Long Island, New York, area, where are you? I'd have to look up the name of our installer in Southampton, NY, if you like.

Here are photos of the pool deck:

IMG_0569.JPG · More Info

IMG_0568.JPG · More Info

Polymeric sand can crack and ants can dig through it. It needs to be maintained like everything else. Kill the ants and fill in cracks with new sand. If done properly, there shouldn't be any loose sand. Might be easier said than done. I don't have composite decking on my deck but many of my neighbors do and it doesn't look good IMO. For one thing, the framing is still made of wood and it seems impossible to get the framing and rails to match the composite. Might be better to go the contrast route instead of trying to match. Pavers look a lot better IMO, but you can't just put them down and go away. And there's way more selection with pavers.

We had a patio installed at our last house. Our landscaper used play sand, not polymeric. We got weeds/moss in between but it wasn't anything a power wash couldn't take care of. Had to add sand periodically (1x/year) which we didn't think was that onerous.

We just built a composite deck at our new house. It's not slippery at all (possibly even less so than wood). We also opted for the more expensive product line of the composite decking we chose, so that might have something to do with it.

OP in your case that's a lot of fill. Can the house take that fill adjacent to it? If so, I'd probably want a paver system. I had a neighbor with a low deck and it was a haven for rabbits (and probably other little creatures). I think an entire colony lived under there. For that reason alone I wouldn't want a deck.