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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 8:31 pm
by MikeyMing
Is this any good. I read on the main site that the Chinese and Indian stuff was of variable quality, but cant find any info on tha brazilian.
Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:46 am
by Tony McC
Again - there can be variable quality, but if you buy from a reputable supplier, you should be OK. I trialled some Brazilian Slate last year, supplied by Blue Sky Stone, and it has been superb.
It can be tricky to lay, as it isn't very permeable and so doesn't easily bond to the bedding, but once in place, it's an excellent paving for small patios.
Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:12 pm
by London Stone Paving
There is no doubt that Brazilian slate is the best. It is dense and as such splits very evenly. The colour of Brazilian slate is also much deeper and richer.
The sticking point is the price. To buy decent quality Brazilian exterior slate paving the rrp is going to be £35-£45 + VAT per m2. When there is so much of the Indian & Chinese on the market it becomes difficult to sell the higher priced Brazilian material.
We have tried slate from both India & China and the Chinese material is superior to the majority of the Indian Slate. The problem with Indian slate is that it is extremely flaky, you can literally pull bits of it. This particular problem is highlighted when you attempt to cut the slate with an angle grinder, it can just go too pieces which results in a large amount of wastage.
Having said that we went throught 3 Chinese suppliers before we found a slate which was of acceptable quality. We now buy our Chinese slate through a British owned company based in Hong Kong. It comes at a higher price but is worth every penny. We once purchased a container of slate from a Chinese company we found online. When the container arrived it was the biggest pile of rubbish We'd ever seen.
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:13 pm
by ken
are there any photos on this site of that slate patio we laid at your kid's, tony? just some one has asked me to lay some slate, and id like to show them some pics of what the finished job looked like. ken
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:57 am
by Tony McC
There are none on the site, as far as I can remember, but I have a portfolio of then on my hard drive.
And just the whet the appetite of those who might be interested.....
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:01 pm
by jonnyboyentire
Nice stuff, that.
Interesting design 
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 8:59 pm
by lutonlagerlout
the whole thing looks very unusual,asymmetric
and whats that white thing outside the patio doors?
LLL
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:52 pm
by ken
The white thing is an r2 overlay patio we installed the day before.
Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:40 am
by Tony McC
The unusual shape is a result of using what stone was supplied to create summat that was vaguely interesting. The client loves it, so that's all that really matters. 
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:16 pm
by bluesky stone direct
Hi All
I am a newbie but since our company Bluesky Stone has been mentioned on this subject, I thought it best we stuck our nose in!
We are importers of Brazilian slate and are based in Milton Keynes. We approached Tony last year to find a customer local to him to do a write up of how these paving tiles can be installed in a small patio environment.
The completed patio is the picture Tony has posted and the sizes sent were simply to showcase the sizes we had at the time (since then we have increased the range of sizes)
If you have questions about the installation method, TM has kindly put together a document together for us which can be found at our website, here is the link:-
www.blueskystone.com/document_downloads.html
It is the 3rd link down on the page, entitled "Installing a slate patio – Pavingexpert.com (Tony McCormack)"
All the best
Leo
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:15 pm
by lutonlagerlout
nice looking stuff leo
nice site too
i am a little perplexed at henry's methods on youtube, but the end result looks fine
LLL