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Please note: The owners of this site cannot take responsibility for any damage or mishaps caused by the information contained within the site. Advice and information is given in good faith but you should always take advice from a local "on the spot" expert or supplier before taking any critical action or decisions.

BUYING INDIAN SANDSTONE PAVING


When purchasing Indian sandstone paving there are a few practical things you need to consider. It is easy to get confused when triapsing around stone yards, take a note book and pen, pick up leaflets, and make notes as you go! I hope the following checklist will help, it may be helpful to print it off and take it with you when you are shopping for Indian sandstone paving.

BASICS:
1. Is the surface of your chosen paving slabs to be riven (rough) or smooth (honed) ?
2. Are the edges of the slabs sawn or chiseled ?
3. Do the slabs vary in thickness ?
Check on the thickness of the slab in the crates, if the thickness varies a lot from slab to slab this may affect how and where you lay the paving.

4. If the paving is supplied in a "project crate" (That is slabs of various sizes to create a pattern) does the supplier include a drawing of the patterns available for each crate.
5. Can the patterns be repeated and iterlocked with without creating lots of long straight lines that may look odd ?


6. When the crates are unpacked a few of the slabs may have fossil or mineral marks on the surface. This will vary from supplier to supplier. This is quite natural and you may be quite happy to accept this as part of buying a natural material.However Question your supplier about his experience of this, and what, in his experience is the percentage of marked slabs.
It's unreasonable and impractical to expect the supplier to open and check every crate. but you can ask what his policy is on exchanging stained or damaged slabs.
His policy may very well affect the price you pay.

COLOUR:
Indian sandstone are graded and sold by colour. There may be quite a range of colour shades in each crate, it is this variation that makes natural stone so desirable. Just be sure you understand what colour you are buying ! Ask your supplier how much variation you should expect.

SIZES:
Indian sandstone paving slabs may be sold in Project packs. Each pack or crate will contain varying sizes to make up a patterned patio. Or can be sold in crates containing just one size of slab. It's important to know which you are buying!