Concrete paving slabs - Who uses it and why?

[mouldmaker]

Cheap indian imports of natural stone have knocked a big hole in the concrete paving market (not the cheap 99p slab market, but the 'quality' end).

As concrete paving manufacture is my background, and I'm looking to launch new ranges of concrete paving (reproductions of antique stone that can't be replicated by indian stuff), I'm interested in who still uses or specifies concrete paving and why.

Can anyone help?

[Tony McC]

I don't know how much of the traditional wet-cast range will survive, Mike. Imported stone has frozen the market and there's no growth in sales for the typical riven-effect wet cast flagstone.

I wonder, sometimes, why some folk insist on using one of the better wet-cast products when they could have genuine stone for half the price, and the most popular answer I receive is that, for them, the concrete lookalike is more "traditional" than the imported stone, closely followed by a perception that the Indian sandstone is "common" and thereby devalued.

Other, less-fathomable responses include "the stone is too stoney", "the surface is too bumpy" and the "I've read/been told that it's all made by one-armed orphaned babies and captured slaves".*

I'm sure concrete flags will still be with us in 25 years time, but I believe manufacturers such as yourself have to explore new designs that will appeal to the patio-buying public. I think there's mileage in the Carpet-Stone type products, especially if we can get the jointing issue resolved, and in faithful reproductions of distinctive stone, such as marshalls have done with their Lacock/Polesden Lacey products. Of greater potential is the possibility of using recycled/reclaimed aggregates, a concept originally pushed by Alan Smith when he was at Bradstone, and now being picked up by other larger companies. If you can declare an environmental benefit to your product, it WILL sell.

I'll be most interested to see if we have any other suggestions to this thread.


* On the subject of the alleged notoriety associated with some imported stone, a regular reader of this website is, as I type, trudging around the sub-continent investigating the suppliers that ship stone products to his company. He's planning to post a blog to this site, and you can read the first installment (a "scene setter" written by me) here and read the news feature that introduces the thinking behind the trip here

[Rich H]

I just had a check back through the last 50 jobs to give you some stats from my area (Thames Valley). 43 were Indian Sandstone, 4 were 'cheap' concrete slabs (developer jobs) and the remaining three were high-end moulded slabs.

I like laying the good quality moulded slabs as it's easier and you get a great finish, but I find that most customers would rather save the £5-£15/sq.m for something else, like edging, planting or a water feature.

We'll see how Marshalls do with their high-end 'named' slabs. I hadn't heard of the recycled aggregate route but that would definitely have appeal.

As we all know, though, much of the time it comes down to price.

[paulcurrie1]

I layed a Raj Green Indian sandstone patio last summer, which I got from North West Builders supplies. I originally was going to get the Marshalls Heritage range, but when I found out that many professionals do not rate the Marshalls range, and that it doesn't wear very well, and also to my surprise that the genuine Indian paving would cost £970, whereas the Marshalls was going to cost me around £1500. However cost wasn't the biggest driver for me - it is my patio, and I had decided I would spend whatever to get a really good finish, but I really preferred the natural stone - I also got some really nice fossil mint setts for around the edge. Now 1 year on I am still really happy with it - my dad and I did a great job of laying it. The only gripe is sometimes it looks a touch 'grey', whereas when it is wet it looks fantastic. Overall I am really glad I went for the authentic materials, rather than the 'authentic look' materials.

[mouldmaker]

Many thanks for your input, guys.

[lutonlagerlout]

i suppose its just a fad like all the other fads,remember when everyone wanted chequer board red and buff 450 by 450 patios?
then it was decking ,now its injun sandstone
all i can say is mouldmaker go with the times
i have noticed a lot more people have the fancy copings and pier caps now than they used to ,maybe go more for that area
i used to build a fireplace at least once a month in people's houses i havent done one for 8 years now
thats fashion for you
cheers LLL

[mouldmaker]

Cheers Luton. We do the fancy stuff, pier caps etc (as fancy as you like).

Not sure how much of a fad indian stone is - people like low prices.

How about indoors? If you could have flagstones 15-20mm thick, as strong as a 38mm slab, would you use it? Or for roof terraces, or anywhere where weight or depth are an issue?

[lutonlagerlout]

prices are low now mouldmaker but that doesnt mean they will be in the future,plus there is a definete fashion element to it,i see loads of travertine and sandstone inside houses but the tide will turn onto the next new thing. it wil be like UPVC windows,15 yrs ago they were the best thing since sliced bread,now we are ripping them out and putting timber ones back in???
i prefer laying decent concrete flags (old london springs to mind) to stone==> its easier and can look better,there can be a bit too much variation in natural stone,or "trip hazards" as clients like to call the 3-4 mm lips that they discover
good luck
LLL