WHAT'S THE BEST SLABS FOR YOUR PATIO

When choosing natural stone tiles for your garden, it’s important to work out for yourself, or for your client, exactly which paving is going to be the most suitable. It is helpful to understand the different products on the market and their benefits. Some are more hard-wearing, others have more colour variations and often the surface finish of one material can be different from another.

Natural Stone Paving

Natural stone has been around for thousands of years with many of the modern wonders of the world being built with it. It lasts for YEARS and will certainly last for years more if it is of good quality.

The colours in natural stone have been produced in the earth and not by a man-made process so the results are incredibly difficult to replicate by hand and eye.

Natural stone is often considered a superior product to its concrete counterpart for a number of reasons:

• It ages better with time.
• The colours are subtle and more varied.
• More frost resistant than concrete.
• Easier to clean.
• Considered more valuable and can even add value to a property.
• Because the stone is all uniquely formed under the layers of earth, no two pieces will be the same. Each piece will contain its own unique layered patterns and veining, meaning technically each and every project will be unique.

Indian Sandstone Paving Slabs

This timeless material is easily the most popular imported material available on the market.

Sandstones are composed of tiny grains which are held together by a form of cementitious material which usually consists of silicon. It’s this silicon ‘cement’ that determines how resilient a material is.

Silicon is a tough material, which is why sandstone can be a very hard stone. It’s all to do with how tightly these silicon molecules are packed together.

The tighter they are packed, the harder the material. This silicon ‘cement’ can be any number of colours and as a result, is what gives the slabs such a varied colour range – from grey to bright red – and whilst there is a variation in colour and make-up, you will find sandstone long-lasting and durable.

Pros

• Strong colour patterns and designs for each individual slab.
• Huge range of colours and styles.
• Wide availability.
• Easy to work with – cutting & laying.
• Will withstand the weather and frosty conditions.
• Dirt cleans off relatively easily.
• Lasts a lifetime whilst adding value to a property.

Cons

• Can fade over time if not looked after due to bad weather.
• The surface is 100% natural so can sometimes be a little over-rough on the surface.
• Natural stone also throws up the occasional undesirable natural variations such as blotches and other imperfections.

Limestone Paving Slabs

Limestone is also an imported sedimentary stone formed by tiny grains formed naturally under the earth. The slight difference in geology is the cementitious material that binds the tiny grains together under pressure – it is a mixture of silicon and lime rather than purely silicon which creates the difference in colours and textures.

The main difference, visually, between limestone and sandstone is the consistency of colour. Sandstone is made up of a variety of different colours blended together, whereas limestones are made of much more consistent grains.

Limestone is formed after many years at the bottom of lakes, rivers or oceans after the accumulation of shells bones and other calcium-rich minerals have caused pressure at the bottom of these bodies of water and formed these minerals into a stone. If subject to even more intense heat and pressure for long periods of time, the un-quarried stone metamorphoses into marble.

Pros

• The texture of limestone is very fine, so it takes on a distinctive, soft-looking finish when used as paving slabs and results in a smoother surface.
• Even colours for creating a uniform area.
• Very easy to cut and work with.
• When the colour of the slabs is enhanced, limestone creates deep, unique and striking colours.

Cons

• Much more susceptible to colour fade than sandstone if not maintained.
• The colour palette is much more limited than sandstone and there are fewer ranges available.
• Acid damage is common because of the calcium composition. Be careful if it remains untreated.

Porcelain Paving Slabs

Porcelain paving is a man-made product. Outdoor porcelain tiles are manufactured by firing clay at very high temperatures using moulds, which results in identical slabs in the desired shape. Once these shaped tiles are completely dry, they are then wrapped in a veneer to add texture and pattern. The pattern can be absolutely anything you can imagine - it can be made to replicate natural stone, but can even be veneered to look like deck boards!

The beauty of porcelain is that it addresses an awful lot of the concerns that natural stone can raise. Porcelain is described as an ultra-low maintenance solution as many of its properties means that once it's installed, there's not too much you need to do with it.

The porosity of Porcelain slabs is close to 0%, which means that it won't absorb stains and muck at all. If you wash down a porcelain patio even years later, it should come up looking like the day you installed it. On top of this, Porcelain tiles are incredibly hard-wearing and truly stand the test of time. They are scratch-resistant and able to withstand a lot of pressure - they are a real top-of-the-range option.

However, it's important to remember that this is no longer a natural stone and there are drawbacks that come with it. There is an extra step that comes during installation: as the stone is non-porous, it struggles to stick down to a mortar bed on its own. There is an extra substance known as a "primer" that needs to be added onto the bottom of a porcelain slab to enable it to stick down to the bed. So it is a little bit more involved during installation.

Also, during installation, Porcelain paving slabs can be much trickier to cut than a regular Indian sandstone for example. They are very tough and long-lasting, but naturally, this makes cutting them more difficult. With a specialist blade, a lot of the hard work can be done for you, but it's important to note the extra blade requirement.

Pros

• Porcelain is entirely non-porous, which means the surface will not absorb stains or be damaged by water.
• Super-easy to clean.
• A wide variety of options due to the flexibility of using a veneer.
• Strong, long-lasting tile that will come up brand-new after cleaning.

Cons

• Difficult to cut and requires a specialist blade.
• Extra later known as a "primer" is needed to make sure the slab adheres to the bed.
• Top of the price range.

Porcelain is increasing in popularity dramatically - what was almost unheard of as little as 5 years ago has now become one of the market-leading options for outdoor paving.