Paving Slab Dilemma
Hi all
Having some work done in the garden, a cabin and small hot tub built into the ground, with surrounding patio area. The work is progressing well but I am having a dilemma regarding what paving slabs to use. Has anyone used granite and if so can you tell me its pro's and con's?
I am trying to create a uniform contemporary look and have looked at options including sandstone and porcelain but am thinking the texture of granite would be a better option (anti slip, stain resistant etc). I am worried though, as it is a natural stone that the colours may vary which is not the look I am trying to achieve. Has anyone experienced this? Or if anyone can recommend another product? I am looking for a light grey, smooth slab
Any info would be very gratefully received.
Thank you.
Comments (9)
Birdseid
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Revamp paving slabs
Comments (5)Power wash to remove any debris or growth, perhaps use a concrete stain to colour them, use a separator, such as grass, treated wood or pebbles to create a pattern and re-lay the slabs. Use the edging to create a raised flower bed along the back or sides, and you might think about some adding a few sections of trellis to bring some vertical height to the walls and break-up the walls. An evergreen type of climber would provide colour and fullness both summer and winter. A few shaped pyramid junipers might do that as well, but they do attract mosquitos....See MorePorcelain or Sandstone Paving?
Comments (1)In the grand scheme of things the difference in the acquisition cost is probably not so bad as more of the cost of laying the patio will be labour. You should check that the installation costs don’t vary too much. There is lots of conflicting advice about sealing stone so you may decide not to do it and save the maintenance - those against sealers point to Roman ruins and say that 2000 years later the stone still looks pretty good without sealer! If the objective is to have a seamless finish between the inside and out then you should go for the porcelain- stone changes colour in the wet and oven the first few years iron will rise to the surface of the stone giving it a brown quality that will be more noticeable when wet....See MoreGrey Cobbles or Grey Sandstone Paving Slabs For L-Shaped Garden Paths
Comments (2)I think it depends on your property and what goes best with the house. You will have more joints for weeds to come through and for pointing to deteriorate with cobbles, so that's a consideration. The cobbles are smaller and harder to walk on, whereas the sandstone gives larger flatter areas. Sandstone has it's own problems depending on which type you go for, and, there are quite a few. You can get honed sandstone, which is flatter than the non-honed, providing you with better joints. We have Indian Sandstone ( unhoned ), looks great but the pointing is a mare due to the uneven nature of the stone, but looking at the fossils in it and the different colours is great. Nothing will stop the algae though, so you will need to jet wash.................ours has been treated withe everything you can throw at it and it still has to be done at least twice a year. I don't think it's just us, as, our next door neighbour also has sandstone, a different type to us, but they jet wash as much as we do....See MoreWhats the most effective way of clening york Stone paving slabs?
Comments (3)Hi Derek I would not worry too much about not sealing them - the argument still rages as to how much of a benefit or nuisance sealing is. The first step for cleaning is to simply try jet washing them with a domestic jet wash that you can buy from a DIY store. Be careful not to wash the mortar between the slabs too aggressively because depending on your washer, it can damage it. If you have a lot of algae and stain marks then it is probably worth adding in a proprietary cleaner as well. It is worth getting one from a supplier of stone, rather than a generic one from the DIY store as you want to make sure it will do the job but not damage the stone. I don't know where you are in the country, but London Stone are a good choice in the South East https://www.londonstone.co.uk/paving-tile-ancillaries/natural-stone-cleaners/ Like carpets, patios do need cleaning a couple of times a year, depending on how clean you like them to look....See More
PROTierra Designs Ltd
7 years agoBirdseid
7 years ago
PROBrackley Landscape Services
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoLooks like a great project!
Granite is definitely a good choice for where it's going to be laid.
We've used silver granite paving within several projects. It tends to have a very consistent colour, here's a few pictures:
Silver Granite
Brown Granite
Granite patio area · More Info
Contemporary Landscape Design - Feature Stone · More Info
Granite Steps & Paving · More InfoBirdseid
7 years ago- PRO
Brackley Landscape Services
7 years agoThe picture above used a 600x300mm flag laid in a staggered layout with 100x100mm granite cubes as a border. I think the dark border adds a contrast to define the space.
Just a few more pictures of projects currently underway with silver granite:
900x600mm silver granite flag laid in staggered layout:
200mm wide random length silver granite slab with limestone edging (before grouting)
PROTerra Firma Gardens
7 years agoGranite is great but it can be a little cold looking too. We use a lot of smooth sandstone in 'Walnut' Premiastone by Natural Paving. It has a nice consistent colour and is reasonably priced too. Here is an example of one of our gardens using silver grey granite and the other using Walnut sandstone
Michaela Kirby
2 years ago
Tierra Designs Ltd