Riven or natural sandstone - Bradstone

[DIM]

Right i'm already to go with the patio...only problem now is the wife likes bradstones old riven range and ill want bradstone natural stone. Her reasons are old riven looks neater and its cheaper mine is a natural product will still look good in 15years and will not fade with pressure washing etc.

So my question is how well will the bradstone old riven hold up compared to bradstone natural sandstone? It will get normal patio use i guess...two young boys, bbq's etc.

Thanks

edit: also will the old riven show chips where as on the sandstone it will just blend in to the effect?

[Tony McC]

It's a matter of personal taste. I prefer natural stone to that particular wet cast product, but, IMO, Bradstone make better quality products than the Old Riven range, which I'd class as a mid-price product.

As the flags weather, the natural stone retains its looks while the wet-cast wears, chips, spalls and, eventually, begins to look like what it really is - a concrete flag. However, this might take 10-15 years: it's not going to happen overnight, at least not with a quality product.

In terms of maintenance, there's nothing to choose between the two. Some of the imported sandstones are pretty prone to algae and lichens, but there are plenty of algaecides now available to control this. Wet-cast are prone to colour fade although this can be lessened, to some degree, by use of certain sealants and colour enhancers.

So: the choice has to be yours (and your missus'). I can't tell you which is right for your home, all I can do is re-assure you that you won't be too disappointed whichever you go for.

[DIM]

Thanks for your detailed answer Tony... :;):

What is your view of Bradstone's Natural Sandstone range? and what in your opinion is the high end bradstone "neater" concrete flags the missis should now look at. Or Bradstone at all? due to me being a novice regarding flags all i can do is read up on here then go with a known name and what looks good. I cant tell what is manufactured well and will last but when were talking in decades i dont mind paying out and need to choose well.... :;):

[Tony McC]

To be fair, Bradstone's natural strone comes via their sister company, StoneFlair, which is headed up by Phillip Marshall (name rings a bell, eh?) who has one of the best eyes in the trade for spotting quality natural stone. It's as good as anything else on the import market, and better than most, although it is a little bit on the pricey side.

If you wanted to consider 'top notch' riven copies, my top three is, in no particular order....

Old Lancashire/Old Yorkshire from Westminster Stone

Old Town from Bradstone

Millstone from Stonemarket

... these are the creme de la creme in terms of choice of sizes, authenticity of moulding and realistic pricing. There are other high-end products that may have better moulds (The Lacock flags from Marshalls spring to mind) but they are, IMNSHO, overpriced.

Get your missus to take a look at those three suggestions - the contact details for each company can be found on the Links page for concrete pavings. You can usually order a catalogue via the websites, however, Westminster Stone have a brand new catalogue due out in the next few weeks, and, all being well, there'll be an exclusive first look and review in the News section of this website sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.

[DIM]

Thanks again Tony for sharing your experience, yourself and this site have been a great help..... :;):

[the manager]

just to update you tony phil marshall is no longer with stoneflair
millstone lol wonder where they get that from

[Tony McC]

I heard a couple or three weeks back that he'd "moved on", and that he is now involved with a certain other company nearer his home patch. There's been quite a few changes in personnel at a number of the larger companies over the last month or two - musical chairs, in some cases, but there's a nasty whiff of politics behind some of the HR departments.

[mouldmaker]

but there's a nasty whiff of politics behind some of the HR departments.

Business as usual then...

But I hope it's a good move for Philip, he's a nice guy who I'm guessing was probably a little stifled by AI involvement.

[kotinka]

have you considered using imported indian sandstone? It works out cheaper than many concrete flags such as bradstone old riven (it sells for about £17 / m2 with the vat included) & is way cheaper than uk sandstone. It looks better than concrete too, but that's just my opinion.

[DIM]

Went with the Bradstone natural fossil buff in the end...Got it trade so cost £20/m2, worth it for piece of mind as i didnt know what i'll was really looking at back then ( i'm a bit wiser now), and as i nearly spent the same again on sand,cement and hardcore its not worth putting down anything cheaper.!!!!!!..I'm a CAD manager so i laided a random (but in my favour) no cut pattern out in AutoCAD. Anyway It went in to drawing and looks the dogs ......... There are three slabs that sound a little hollow but are not rocking, guess theres a little cavity under them but ill tackle them when/if they start to rock. Its on 100mm of compated type 1 so its going no where soon...should still be around when i'm gone... Its been a huge task for me this year leveling the garden....sleepers, brickwork, steps patio etc. but its looking great and its much better than a 1/6 slope for my boys who are 1&2...Thanks again for the advice and ill come back to post pics...

[Tony McC]

Please do post the piccies - we all like looking at other folks' projects! I have dozens in a folder in my study that I've been promising to upload for the last god-knows how many months - I eed one of them round tuits!

[tfpaddock]

Tony Ill post you a pic of the patio you designed in 05, but now I want to keep it as new. Any suggestions re cleaning &sealing? tfpaddock

[DIM]

Here you go, as promised...

[Tony McC]

For the Indian sandstones, the two sealants I've seen that appear to give best results are...

Richard Rogers StoneSeal
MN StainStop by Lithofin

Contact details in the links section.