Indian Sandstone Patios For Homes In Buckingham
Sandstone is the most popular traditional patio style we fit for customers and considering its wide range of colours, its authentic feel, the warmth it brings to any patio area, its not a surprise.
We draw equally from the packs so the riven shading spreads, because working one pack dry before opening the next leaves patching effects across the patio and can be noticed.
On smaller areas in Buckingham, we recommend taking the 900×600 laid in running bond, as a mixed pack in a tight area looks a bit busy and shrinks the space. Using this simple trick will visually increase the feel of the patio area.
What Indian Sandstone Patio Work Do We Cover In Buckingham?
Our patio layers lay Indian sandstone on patios and paths in Buckingham, along with steps and walling.
We work from 900×600 and 600×600, with 600×290 and 290×290 in the mix. The slabbing we lay in Buckingham are mostly 25-35mm, and 22mm calibrated is the levelled slab.
- Mix size project pack, with no joint lines joining up across the field
- Running bond with one size on a small patio, so fewer joints open the area out
- One size on the diagonal for a diamond effect, framed with a soldier course
Indian Sandstone Compared With The Alternatives
Colour in the Indian sandstone we lay in Buckingham is the stone itself, not a dye on the face. Fifteen or twenty years on we can lift the slabs, wash them, and relay the original stone.
Sandstone is the most porous of the stones we use, so moss takes hold where water is allowed to sit and the sun never reaches to dry it out. Making sure correct drainage levels as set so water cannot sit is the real answer on a Buckingham patio, and we recommend sealing areas that are never exposed to the sun.
Laying An Indian Sandstone Patio Properly
We always use a solid bed on an Indian sandstone patio in Buckingham instead of dot and dab, because dabbing leaves ring effects that only lift-and-relay will fix, application of slurry primer will help bonding the stone to the base.
If you see crumbling mortar in the joints, or if you notice the pointing losing its texture, then it was touched up after it started to go off.
Pointing your patio
If you want a bird beak or pitched pointing effect, we joint mortar pointing mixed on site at 3:1 or 4:1. That is the only joint we can shape into a bird’s beak on a riven edge.
Flowpoint or other cementitious slurry is poured and squeegeed across the flags, and it fills minor dips under a full-bedded slab which provides extra grip.
Resin geofix or other epoxy brush-in is brushed in dry, tamped, then wetted, and it needs a 5-6mm minimum joint and a 10-15mm maximum on this stone. We tape the slab edges in Buckingham when the mortar is darker, because sandstone soaks pigment.
Book An Indian Sandstone Patio Quote In Buckingham
Call 01280 430126 first. Our patio layers in Buckingham visit and look at access and levels. We check the existing flags too, so the labour on the quote is honest.
Buckingham Patios talk through Indian sandstone and the joint on that visit. The estimate comes in writing, free, and with no obligation. See our patio work if you want the rest of the garden paving.
Commonly asked sandstone questions
Riven, sawn or honed, which sandstone finish suits the job?
Riven is the traditional face and it grips all year, but water sits in the texture, so we give it more fall than a smooth slab in Buckingham. Sawn is a flat even plane, and honed can be slippy.
Four-size pack or a single size, when is each right?
Most patios take the mixed pack, drawn across the packs on site, and a single size is rare for the main field, but it earns its place as a border, and it makes cutting easier.
Which patio material suits a shaded, wet or slippery spot?
If the area is being sealed, any slab will do on that shaded spot, and if it is not being sealed, pick a textured face. Granite needs little more than a wash because it is not porous, and porcelain should not go where leaves sit wet on the face.
Should an existing stone patio be re-jointed or relaid?
It depends whether the slabs are moving. If the patio is sound and the joints have just deteriorated, we re-point. If slabs wobble, re-jointing will not hold, so we lift the original stone, wash it, and relay it in Buckingham.