Least problems possible! - Which slabs to pick?

[kiddo]

Hi folks,
After reading so many horror stories from people whose newly-laid patios have suffered from staining, or damage when sealing them, blah blah, I am now terrified of buying something that’s going to give me problems and upset, down the line.
I just want some slabs for a new patio that I am going to lay 5mx5m in a neutral-grey kind of colour.

Can anyone advise me what type of slab gives the least problems?

Thanks everyone.

[topgrafter2007]

try a 600x600 38mm grey pressed concrete flag, we use them with charcoal pavers and they look clean and modern looking, can be mixed with loads of patterns. dont go for riven tho as i dont think they are as nice looking. your choice though. we use wyresdale brand but were in blackpool area. plenty to choose from tho. should need bout 50 ish flags depending on pattern you choose. 2 packs = £190.00

[msh paving]

If you chose a slab from the leading manufactures they are all a good quality and covered buy there standards ,if you pick a mid range slab in the £3-4 per slab range you wont go far wrong with quailty , cheap slabs tend to suffer from poor over all quailty in finish something like marshalls saxon are a good mid range slab in a buff colour and a not slip finish made to a good standard uniform thickness , today i bought 52 600x600 £5 each +vat

[lutonlagerlout]

when you think laterally,what is the most important thing about a patio?
IMHO its the usability,so to this end the size and location matter most
even if you lay 900 by 600 "council " slabs the patio can still be made to look nice by dressing with pots and various other tat that people leave outdoors

but remember the cost of the slabs/flags is only about 30% of the overall cost
LLL

[Dave_L]

Yep, I was going to suggest council greys!

[kiddo]

Hi folks, thanks for the advice, some good suggestions in there.

I really liked the Marshalls Saxons, but they only do one shade of grey. I was hoping to lay a light coloured grey for the majority, with a couple of darker grey ones dotted about to make it more interesting.

Does anyone know of any more manufactures that do different shades ?

[msh paving]

SAXON avaible in natural,red and buff

[Tony McC]

If you like Saxon but want more shades of grey, look at Argent. It has a similar shot-textured finish, but uses a granite aggregate in place of the sand/gritstone in Saxon.

[kiddo]

Hi folks, I popped into Wickes for some tools, and I saw that they do a basic concrete textered flag that was pretty much what I was after in terms of cosmetics, and seems reasonable cheap... they do 4 sizes in the range too.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Cleaner....6

I was intending to lay 30m2 on a motar-bed, and for the joints, use a darker colour than the slab.

So I guess my quesion is, are these slabs okay in terms of quality and will they suffer any of the ill effects that I read on here about staining, damp-spots etc.


Thanks so much for all your advice to me.

[msh paving]

no problem there they are a good slab for your application,full mortar bed is perfect, you should be fine with them MSH

[kiddo]

Excellent - thanks chaps, Im going ahead with this choice and am doing it over the April Bank holiday!! cant wait.

Can anyone advise if these slabs are suitable for laying with a tiny gap between them (say 3mm) and then filling with sand, instead of using mortar joints?

I dont think a 10mm mortor joint would look very nice. Unless I add a dye and create a darker joint, maybe that would like nice?

Any ideas?

[Rich H]

It'll be stronger, more long lasting and easier to maintain with a mortar joint, but ultimately it's your choice.

However, depending on your location, you can buy natural sandstone at much the same price (or less) which will be unique and give you the minor colour variations you want.

Sandstone in Kanda Grey

Sorry for the image quality - it was shot using my phone.

[kiddo]

Hey man, that looks cool!

I had a quick browse on the web, and that Indian Sandstone is only a little more in price that the concrete slabs I was intending to buy from Wickes.

Now I dont know what to do?!?!!?!

I prefer the sandstone you have pointed out, as its unique and interesting etc, but at least with the Wickes slabs you know what you are getting and aren't gonna get ripped off. Iv'e read on here that some online companies are supplying really bad qaulity stone etc.

How do I know what I am buying is of a decent qaulity and I wont be gettign ripped off ?

Also, is this sandstone subject to any of the problems such as staining and damp circles etc ? Does Sandstone need sealing or anything ?

Regards

[Bobby Spray]

Here's another Kandla grey in the process of being layed last year. You'll see that it's quite light when dry but as Rich showed, slate coloured when wet. The pointing takes almost as long as the laying if you use mortar (well it did for this DIYer).

good luck
BS

[Tony McC]

I thought I'd posted this before, but I can't see it in the images folder, so this must be its first airing.....my favourite Kandla Grey photograph....