Indian sandstone - which colour?

[Amanda1000000]

Hello

I have to choose our paving slabs tomorrow and I am so undecided. Does anyone have fossil mint or raj green or any other cream/brown options? Can you tell me if you like it, how black/green/dirty it gets (we have a jetwash) and if you think it would go with a cream rendered house?

We are going to have two large areas of patio and a path in matching setts so it is an important decision!

Which colour would you choose and why??

Thanks so much!
Amanda

Hi Amanda, I'm a garden designer. Personally I favour limestone over indian. Indian can vary in quality greatly and is susceptible to surface flaking and frost damage.
You mentioned setts which has confused me....these tend to be in granite. What look are you aiming for? Contemporary or trad?

It is very important when choosing paving to go to a place or show area where you can view the stones laid en masse. Whereabouts in the uk are you?

I didn't choose Indian sandstone as the colours can be very mixed and it gets grotty quickly.
I got Indian limestone instead.

Thanks for your replies. I think we are pretty set on Indian sandstone because of the cost. It's a large-ish area. I have a sample of fossil mint, raj green and a gray sat outside but the problem is they're so variable it's hard to really get an idea - also hard to imagine what a large area what might look like. The slabs are coming from a local place Cotswald Vale www.cotswoldvalesupplies.co.uk/paving-products/ who have boxes of them but were climbing up and lifting a few out for me to see one at a time. When I google pictures it seems so variable. I'm worried the fossil mint would be too red/pink. I'm worried the raj green looks a bit dull/dark/browny.

We have an old cream rough rendered house and the design is pretty traditional with a oval lawn and a path going around up to a circle patio at the other end of the garden (which is west facing). The patio outside out kitchen diner faces east so is in the shade afternoon onwards.

Oh the setts are like this infinitepaving.com/mint-fossil-indian-sandstone-paving-cobbles-setts-100x100?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkpfWBRDZARIsAAfeXaqGyrsF5mMFIFDTmANqlMyyf5-y1MJp4xOYx3Y0hgDd1YxCfOWVb48aAhXwEALw_wcB which is just what the designer put in for the path I guess for contrast from the patio itself...

I have Raj green on my patio and really love it. Been down for 2 years now and still looks great.

The aspect of where you are laying is quite important. On a northerly aspect algae can be an issue esp on Indian. Not a big southerly. It sounds like you have your heart set on indian.
As a rule of thumb Indian stone darkens with age and limestone tends to bleach out or whiten. So depends on the aspect.

That's great to know CarrotCakeMuffins. The circle is south west facing, the patio near kitchen is east facing and the path is north facing... hmmm.

We got autumn Indian sandstone on our patio and it still looks great two years on.

bairnk, that looks great, thanks.

CarrotCakeMuffins - any chance of a photo tomorrow?

I’m Indian and wouldn’t buy Indian sandstone for the UK. It needs to be replaced frequently; discolours in rain, and isn’t always ethically sourced (construction in India is a woman and child driven industry and exploitative / underpaid as a result; to source ethically you basically have to know your supplier). I have an old family home in India with sandstone in the courtyard and always face a repair bill after monsoon season, but we HAVE to use it as it’s a gated community and has rules.

I also have raj green, it's lovely. I do have to treat it for blackspot every three years or so but it is really attractive.

bairnk is your patio sealed? Our new patio is Indian sandstone unsealed. Can’t decide if we should seal or not. Sorry for going off thread!

Bairnk
Your patio looks great. What do you use to clean it ?

This flamed granite. It's not particularly expensive and whilst my look is contemp it can be combined with cobbles or setts to give a more naturalistic look. I'm a huge fan of granite because

• tough as nuts, can be jet washed lightly
• sealing not necessary
• don't flake or damage in frost
• flamed finish has great traction in icey conditions
• nice sparkle in the sun

Could you consider this?

I paid around £22/m2 for the granite from CED and London Stone also have it. It's a good price.

Love that tinkobell! Do you think it might survive a shady spot in the garden? I want the minimum maintenance possible. I’m replacing my algae ridden sandstone.

Just been along to suppliers and the limestone looked good - citron I think was the colour. Was told fossil mint was hard work to keep looking good.

The limestone was only 50p per sqm more!

The granite is ok in shade but tbh anything will collect algae in shade .....Indian does get lethally slimed, so I think you did well to avoid that OP and go for the limestone instead....nice choice, personally I think it looks more like very expensive York stone when laid and suits a traditional house really well.

There are a number of paving treatments on the market called "Wet and Forget" or similar which are algae inhibitors good for a dark / north aspect. I've got a can which I'm going to try out on the granite and will report back.

Tinkobell how safe is the granite from being slippery when wet from rain?

Love the look

This is the stuff. It's only £3.50 a litre if you have a Toolstation near you but it's available elsewhere. www.toolstation.com/shop/p31464

Sorry, put this on the wrong post.