The Ultimate Guide to Natural Stone Paving
Material Choices
Preparation
Aftercare
Choosing Your Stone: Popular Options, Pros, and Cons
Different stones possess distinct performance characteristics. When selecting a material, balance aesthetic appeal against your specific lifestyle requirements.
Natural stone paving transforms any garden into a premium, luxury oasis. However, because handling heavy raw stone, ensuring proper grade, and managing professional sealing require precision equipment and experience, it's best left to specialists.
If you are planning a landscape renovation and want your paving done flawlessly the first time, contact our landscape team today for a custom consultation.
| Stone Type | General Aesthetic | Best Suited For | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluestone | Deep greys and architectural blues. | Patios, driveways, and modern courtyards. | Extremely dense and durable; excellent slip resistance when flamed. | Can get quite hot under direct summer sun. |
| Travertine | Warm beige, ivory, and walnut tones with natural pitting. | Pool surrounds, Alfresco areas, and patios. | Stays cool underfoot; inherently elegant; hides minor outdoor dust and dirt well. | Highly porous; susceptible to acid etching (from citrus or wine) if unsealed. |
| Sandstone | Earthy golds, tans, and natural beachy textures. | Traditional cottage gardens and informal paths. | Exceptionally beautiful; highly cost-effective compared to rarer stones. | Highly absorbent; prone to weathering, fading, and algae growth if left unprotected. |
| Limestone | Soft, uniform, light-toned pastel creams and modern greys. | Large entertainment spaces and geometric courtyards. | Provides a crisp, bright, high-end contemporary look. | Soft texture; vulnerable to staining from organic matter like fallen leaves or bird droppings. |
| Granite | Speckled, crystalline structures ranging from white to black. | High-traffic pathways, entry steps, and driveways. | Virtually indestructible; highly resistant to scratching, staining, and weathering. | High initial material cost; difficult to cut and shape on-site. |
Filling the Gaps: Choosing Your Grout
Grout holds the paving assembly together, prevents weed growth, and seals out invasive water.
We recommend using Mapei grout: A high performance, quick setting and drying cementitious mortar.
The Foundation: Optimal Surface Preparation
A stunning stone patio is only as good as the ground underneath it. Because natural stone slabs have minor variations in thickness, they cannot simply be thrown onto loose soil. Skipping proper sub-base prep guarantees shifted joints, pooling water, and cracked slabs down the track.
The Pro-Grade Preparation Process:
Excavation & Clean out: To accommodate your base, bedding mortar, and the stone thickness.Establishing Fall: Our expertise in drainage guarantees proper surface water runoff.Sub-Base Compaction: This creates the structural load-bearing footprint of your paving.Pour the concrete base: Lay a reinforced concrete slab foundation.The Bedding Layer: Natural stone must be laid on a wet sand-cement mortar bed ensuring a completely level finish.
Protecting Your Investment: Sealers & Application
Because natural stone is highly porous, failing to seal it leaves it exposed to oil, wine, pool chlorine, and atmospheric grime.
Topical vs. Penetrating Sealers
Always opt for a premium penetrating sealer. Unlike topical sealers that sit on top of the stone like a clear coat of plastic—which inevitably peels and traps moisture beneath it—penetrating sealers dive deep into the microscopic pores of the stone. They coat the internal stone structures to repel water and oils from within, all while allowing moisture vapor to escape naturally.
Natural Look Clear Finish: Offer maximum stain protection without altering the colour or texture of your stone.
Colour Enhancing (Wet-Look) Finish: If you want to enrich the dark, deep tones of stones like bluestone or slate, colour-enhancing penetrating sealers darken the stone to highlight its natural beauty, mimicking the look of the stone when wet.