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 bairnk, are your slabs right up against each other or with grout between them?

@SubtitlesOn - flamed granite is brill in wet weather for grip. Really no danger of slipping. The stone to ALWAYS avoid for wet slipping is TRAVERTINE is really lethal. Like an ice rink......I'm aghast at the number of holiday resorts that use it around pools.

Granite needs to be laid 5mm joints (minimal) using a proprietary mix which normally the stone merchant will sell in sacks. There are 3 shades - silver (I don't like...shopping centrey), blue (gorgeous) or black (known as basalt - more expensive and hot in the sun).

OP - Limestone flags best laid with a 10mm bucket handle or flat joint. Bedded on to around 50mm mortar mix and min 50mm of type 1 hardcore base which has been well compacted....usually with a "whacker plate". Avoid sprinkled shingle or gravel joints...just get weeds.

We are replacing our patio next month and had decided on Indian sandstone gray - is this a bad idea? Garden is south/south west facing. Thanks

We had Indian stone patio put down about 10 years ago along the back of the house.
Looked just like bairnk picture when put down, also for about 3/4 years looked lovely.

NOW it looks like this, we have had it powered washed loaded of times but it never looks like it did.

It cost us 3k, and would never have it again!
We have south facing garden

Sorry to hear @Haribogirl. Indian sandstone does become homogenised over time.. as a designer I never specify it. It's doesn't matter what fancy names or shades it's sold as "raj green" etc...it does all look a bit dull over time. You could try an algae inhibitor "spray and walk away" type product as a last ditch???? next time do go for limestone.

Tinkobell
I contacted Marshall’s who we bought it from, they said contact
Lithofin who may have a product to remove algae,Moss lichens.

We bought one from qvc some guy that does gardening on there
You spray and leave
Can’t say I noticed a difference.

May get some from Lithofin this year.

I used Cheshire sandstone for my (grey) sandstone paving patio the quality was much better than my local builders merchants, it was laid last year on a south facing patio and it still looks fab.

We have it in buff or autumn, can't remember which, but wish we had gone for a darker colour. It looks great when wet, but a bit too dull/pale for me when dry. I can remember the guy at the merchants advising the darker colours as the light ones were harder to take care of and softer.

We were advised not to power wash as it would be too hard on the stones and they would flake. We brush and spray once or twice a year with an algae treatment and 3 years on they look good.

hi,
Could i ask how it your patio looks now Amanda1000000?

I'm going through a similar decision where we need to replace 2 old, wide steps in the front porch (3.5mx 1m each) leading to our front door. These are originally made of quarry tiles and brick. I deciding if i should go for tiles (stone look) or actual stone (sandstone, yorkstone, limestone). Of course i would like low maintenance, hard wearing and i do keep flower pots on my steps...any suggestions guys?
Thanks.

My dd has fossil mint, installed last year, and it's lovely - light and sunny looking - with lots of fossils, too!

Raj green looks dark to me, but it's largely a matter of taste. Dd wanted light and sunny.

I've recently had a new stone patio laid, I went for dark grey and it shows up all marks. bit like a black car I suppose. If I had to choose again I'm not sure if I'd go with it. Oh well I know for future!

Thank you. Going to ship around this weekend. Hope I can find something suitable...

Doesn't limestone involve a lot of maintenance?
I'm going round in circles with ours. I was about to bite the bullet with Ivory sawn and honed sandstone but now you've thrown me with talk of limestone. I thought limestone was very high maintenance and needed regular sealing?

I'm sure mine is limestone and I haven't had it sealed, I didn't want the glossy look.

I was under the impression that most of the lovely limestone patios you see had the expensive (non glossy) sealant applied on a regular basis to keep them looking nice.

We've just had patio laid - brown sandstone. It looks awesome.

Should we add sealant over it. We looked but it was pricey and couldn't decide. Is it worth it? Which one has anyone used?

Our supplier is recommending Stain stop Mrs but not until the stone has been down for a few months so that the effloresence can come through and escape first.

I can't recall the exact colour of ours, but it was a mix of golden colours, maybe autum. We had our path done and it's now two years old and still looks fab,

Thank you cloudtree

We've just had granite laid and it looks stunning.

Baxdream where did you get your granite?

Please could you post a photo that doesn't show your house obviously don't want to "out you"

We are planning our patio atm and are hoping to get granite

Ours is from nustone. If you go to the end of the extension thread you'll see photos. We're really pleased with it