Stone edge dressing - Easy way to dress stone edges?

[MickH]

Hi,

I'm laying a patio in Indian Sandstone with a long curved edge - about 12 meters with shallow concave and convex curves.

Cutting the edges isn't a problem with an angle grinder but I need to find a way of roughing up / rounding the edges - without cracking the slabs.

Is there an easy way of doing this?

Thanks

[Tony McC]

No - the only way is to use stone dressing tools, such as pitching chisels (pitchers), and this is a skilled task, not something that can normally be done by a first time DIYer.

You could try to track down a streetmason (or a stonemason) to do this for you, or you might be able to persuade the original supplier (unless they are a useless 'retailer' rather than a stone specialist) to help out.

One alternative method I've recommended to other inexperienced flaggers is to lay the flags at the edge so that they present a ready-fettled edge to the curve, and then cut the flags at the 'back' of those flags, so that the sawn edge is 'buried'....



...it may look 'odd' but the finished effect is quite fetching. I'm hoping to get some photos later this month to show just how 'natural' the finished paving looks, even though those edge flags are laid at a non-orthogonal angle.