Currently have black limestone patio sealed with Lithofin which is around 4 years old and it has faded really bad.
So want to lay a new patio in a stone that will hold its colour longer. Looking for recommendations on something to use that is dark in colour.
Have looked at porcelain but seems really expensive.
Need around 30m2.
New patio slabs that hold their colour
-
RAPressureWashing
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:02 pm
- Location: Staines Surrey
- Contact:
If the paving is in good shape etc, why not get it professionally cleaned & re-sealed?, No sealers are going to last especially on Black Limestone, they tend to start fading after 12 months, even the expensive ones, high maintenance paving for what it is IMO
Roger Oakley BDA(Europe)Member 2006
R&A Pressure Washing Services Ltd
info@rapressurewashing.co.uk
www.rapressurewashing.co.uk
R&A Pressure Washing Services Ltd
info@rapressurewashing.co.uk
www.rapressurewashing.co.uk
-
lutonlagerlout
- Site Admin
- Posts: 15184
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:20 am
- Location: bedfordshire
-
Tony McC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8346
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
- Contact:
If you want long-lasting dark colour, then it's either a Padang-type granite, a Brazilian slate, or a porcelain, and none of them are particularly cheap.
The granite can be daubed with a sealant to 'enrich' the colour, but, as others have said, that will become a reasonably regular task - maybe every 2-3 years for best effect. Slate and porcelain are not suitable for (don't actually need!) a sealant, and more-or-less stay looking as they are permanently.
Dark shades are very much the in-thing right now, so you *will* pay for the look.
Buying a cheaper dark-ish stone and plastering it with a sealant every so often would probably work out more expensive over the service life of the patio (say 15 years) than it would to spend those few extra quid to buy a better quality stone or porcelain. Bear in mind that a genuinely good quality sealant will cost you 3 or 4 quid/m² and then, when it comes to re-application, you would be well advised to have a professional in to thoroughly clean the surface and prep it prior to re-sealing, which could easily cost you twice as much.
All of a sudden, paying an extra tenner or so per m² doesn't seem that bad an investment!
The granite can be daubed with a sealant to 'enrich' the colour, but, as others have said, that will become a reasonably regular task - maybe every 2-3 years for best effect. Slate and porcelain are not suitable for (don't actually need!) a sealant, and more-or-less stay looking as they are permanently.
Dark shades are very much the in-thing right now, so you *will* pay for the look.
Buying a cheaper dark-ish stone and plastering it with a sealant every so often would probably work out more expensive over the service life of the patio (say 15 years) than it would to spend those few extra quid to buy a better quality stone or porcelain. Bear in mind that a genuinely good quality sealant will cost you 3 or 4 quid/m² and then, when it comes to re-application, you would be well advised to have a professional in to thoroughly clean the surface and prep it prior to re-sealing, which could easily cost you twice as much.
All of a sudden, paying an extra tenner or so per m² doesn't seem that bad an investment!
Site Agent - Pavingexpert
-
Tony McC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8346
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
- Contact:
If you want long-lasting dark colour, then it's either a Padang-type granite, a Brazilian slate, or a porcelain, and none of them are particularly cheap.
The granite can be daubed with a sealant to 'enrich' the colour, but, as others have said, that will become a reasonably regular task - maybe every 2-3 years for best effect. Slate and porcelain are not suitable for (don't actually need!) a sealant, and more-or-less stay looking as they are permanently.
Dark shades are very much the in-thing right now, so you *will* pay for the look.
Buying a cheaper dark-ish stone and plastering it with a sealant every so often would probably work out more expensive over the service life of the patio (say 15 years) than it would to spend those few extra quid to buy a better quality stone or porcelain. Bear in mind that a genuinely good quality sealant will cost you 3 or 4 quid/m² and then, when it comes to re-application, you would be well advised to have a professional in to thoroughly clean the surface and prep it prior to re-sealing, which could easily cost you twice as much.
All of a sudden, paying an extra tenner or so per m² doesn't seem that bad an investment!
The granite can be daubed with a sealant to 'enrich' the colour, but, as others have said, that will become a reasonably regular task - maybe every 2-3 years for best effect. Slate and porcelain are not suitable for (don't actually need!) a sealant, and more-or-less stay looking as they are permanently.
Dark shades are very much the in-thing right now, so you *will* pay for the look.
Buying a cheaper dark-ish stone and plastering it with a sealant every so often would probably work out more expensive over the service life of the patio (say 15 years) than it would to spend those few extra quid to buy a better quality stone or porcelain. Bear in mind that a genuinely good quality sealant will cost you 3 or 4 quid/m² and then, when it comes to re-application, you would be well advised to have a professional in to thoroughly clean the surface and prep it prior to re-sealing, which could easily cost you twice as much.
All of a sudden, paying an extra tenner or so per m² doesn't seem that bad an investment!
Site Agent - Pavingexpert