ᐅ Dark Patio Slabs – How Warm / Hot Do They Get in Summer?

If the plan calls for anthracite-colored concrete blocks, I would advise against it. We used them to pave our driveway and courtyard. In summer, walking barefoot is only possible while moving. Standing still becomes uncomfortable very quickly.

Advantage: If you take out the trash barefoot at 11 PM, your feet will feel pleasantly warm.

When our children play there in the summer sun, they only do so by the water tap, which has already spilled about 100 liters (26 gallons) onto the ground. Then it’s okay again.

I believe it’s not just about the color but also the material itself.

If you want the surface to be relatively dark, consider using gray granite. It looks much better than light gray concrete pavers. Plus, it stays dark even when wet.

HilfeHilfe schrieb:
Hello, we painted our Bangkirai deck in a very, very dark brown (almost black). Where the sun hits it, it gets warm under bare feet.

This is correct:

toxicmolotow schrieb:
I think it depends not only on the color but also on the material itself.

Of course, walking barefoot on wood at the same temperature is much more comfortable than on stone (and natural stone may be better than concrete).

If you want to be barefoot, I don’t think stone or concrete works well in full sun all day. You would need some shading.

If you choose a wooden deck, it’s a very different situation.

Zaba12 schrieb:
We have light gray concrete paving stones on our terrace (still a rental apartment) with a full south-facing side. In summer, with full sunlight, the children can’t even walk on the light-colored surface. So I think there isn’t much difference. Hot is hot, whether light or dark.

I agree completely. Our light-colored stones also get very warm/hot in the sun.

I agree with you. We have light gray stones, and they also get very hot on the south side. But what can you do... we don’t want to deal with the maintenance that wood requires, even though we really like how it looks; a full terrace made of natural stone doesn’t appeal to us at all.

The solution is quite simple... shade it. If it’s warm enough for the stones to become uncomfortably hot, I want to have shade anyway.

We have granite slabs, so they are dry medium gray (wet dark gray).
In summer, they feel pleasantly warm. You can also stand on them.

Müllerin schrieb:
Try using the search function; there’s already a fairly extensive thread on this...

I did, but I couldn’t find anything relevant. How did you search?