Patio slabs

[gillys]

I'm looking at getting my patio redone, so I'm trying to decide which slabs to choose. I'm probably going to go for a grey colour. I don't want anything too smooth in case it gets slippery when it's wet or anything that will have quickly. Can anyone help me out with suggestions please ?

We are in the process of having ours done in grey Indian sandstone, can't tell you what they are like until Monday when they are laid. But I've heard nothing but good reviews about them when asking family and friends and the builders who came and gave quotes...

Have a look on www.pavingexpert.com/ If you’re using a tablet you’ll need to scroll to “paving types”.

Hi how does the patio look now?

Recently had a patio laid. We have an old house so I didn't want anything too modern and smooth looking
We went for 'twilight' by Digby stone.
It's a dark grey sandstone with an aged look so the edges are slightly weathered looking and the surface isn't smooth. Really pleased with it.

If you're planning to stay a while, I'd recommend porcelain. They're more expensive than some other slabs but my neighbours have had theirs for years and a stiff brush and a hose down is all they need to look brand new. They look smooth but aren't slippery when wet. My stone type paving is good but needs a strong jet washer and are never really clean.

We have had sandstone for about 8 years, it was badly laid so wobbly and faded. Laid by a so called expert but at the time some advised us just to hose down with water others said to use some cleaners. Some said jet wash others said don’t. It has a few marks on which won’t come out.

We are bow thinking of porcelain. @MilduraS what colour porcelain tiles has your neighbour got please and how often do they clean them and so they have a dog?

Just i am toying with replacing our old weary Indian sandstone paving with porcelain tiles. I can’t decide between a white beigey colour or a black slatey look (see photos below). But we have a dog and our patio is also his path into the house after a muddy walk and I don’t want to create anymore jobs for myself.

My neighbours have white porcelain. It looks amazing when clean, but within 5 mins there’s some leaves / tree pollen / dirt on it, so constant muddy marks like a kitchen floor that needs a good mop. I’d go for darker, esp if you have dogs.

My neighbours have tiles most similar to the pearl porcelain. They do have a dog. Not great with breeds, it's similar to a bichon frise but a bit bigger and not much of a digger. They don't clean the tiles that often, maybe once every few months? They never look dirty but when they wash them it suddenly looks like they've just been laid. I first noticed it when I spent an hour and a half power washing our paving then Mr Next door waltzed out rinsed his paving with a garden house and went back inside before my hands had finished vibrating from the jet washing.

Porcelain is non-porous so will never get algae or lichen growing on it, so it is easy to maintain to keep looking new. However it can get hot on warm summer days and it does show up dirt/mud easily, but this can be just hosed down. So, very easy to keep looking fresh. Although they can look slippery most are built so they are not and have a slip rating which you can check beforehand.
Indian sandstone needs a bit more maintenance to keep it looking good. A regular sweep of leaves/debris (particularly in autumn) and a dose of a cleaning product like 'patio magic' two or three times a year will keep it in good condition. I slightly prefer the natural look of the stone and as each stone is different I think it adds a bit more character. A good Indian sandstone will change colour when it rains, showing browns, reds and deeper shades, which makes it look attractive with the change in weather. Sealing the sandstone would stop this from happening so I would not recommend sealing it, but with some other natural stones sealing is preferable.
It depends on what look you are after in your garden and how much/little work you wish to do. Either sandstone or porcelain would be my preference. I slightly prefer a bit more work and more charm with the sandstone

I think it depends on what "look" you would like in your garden

We have Indian sandstone - DH laid it about 18 years ago

Poster above has described really well how it looks - we've just had rain and the hue of colours is beautiful - DH did a good job as it was his first patio (& last probably)

It has weathered well and looks lovely I think with the house . TBF we were not aware of a porcelain option back then- our garden isn't pristine - kind of country looking

We’ve just had porcelain tiles laid and I love them! They are a light grey so do show muddy footprints, but it’s really easy to clean. Husband is considering buying a patio mop to keep on top of it .

Thanks, yes the sandstone is lovely if laid correctly. The one we currently have down is wobbly think its something to do with the base the so-called professional used has slightly reddish tones to it think it was called sunset or similar and does look lovely when its been cleaned or when it rains but unfortunately we can’t get the same depth tile now and the sizes of ours is are imperial sizes whereas the few available tiles available are now in metric sizes and a different depth so it would be a lot of work cutting slabs and some existing tiles have marked badly with one thing and another. Hence the change.