Indian sandstone - Algae

[farmyfew]

Hi,
I found this site a few days ago and have been very impressed with the wealth of information.
I will be laying an indian sandstone patio in the next few weeks and would like some advice on the type of sandstone.
Part of the patio will be in a shady area. Are there any types of sandstone that are less porous than others which would be less likely to go green with algae ? I know I will have to clean the patio from time to time but just wondered if anyone knew of anything to avoid on the sandstone choice.
Thanks in anticipation.

[Al Jardin]

Hi F
Avoid fossil mint. From experience it is prone to algae due to being very porous. Give the patio a decent fall to help remove water more quickly. I've laid Global Stone's Modak Rose before and it did not attract as much algae.

Al

[London Stone Paving]

All the Indian Sandstones are hard except the fossil mint. Raj green and kandla grey are also very hard wearing.

[Gordon@stone-cellar (UK)]

Where are you based?

[farmyfew]

Thanks very much for the advice.
I was going to go with raj green, so that looks to be ok.

I am in West Sussex.

[London Stone Paving]

Raj green will be a good choice. Its a very hard stone and will be resistant to algae as much as any other Indian sandstone would be. There may still be a possibility of algae if your garden is north facing, or if its damp and shady under the tree you mentioned. You could always seal at a later date if this is becomes an issue, but best to see how it goes first.

[-MG-]

I was going to go with fossil mint for our new patio as I like the colour but have been put off due to the potential algae problem with our north facing garden.

How do Gold Leaf or Autumn Brown sandstone compare with fossil mint on the hardness scale?

[London Stone Paving]

Both Gold Leaf & Autumn Brown are signifcantly harder than fossil mint. I woud still seal them though because of the fact that the garden is north facing

[-MG-]

Thanks for the reply LSP. Time to get some quotes.