Paving Slabs

We stock four. Indian sandstone is the traditional choice, warm and riven-textured, in colours like Kandla Grey, Raj Green and Autumn Brown. Indian limestone is smoother and more uniform, with Kota Black and Kota Blue for a darker, cleaner finish. Indian slate has a riven texture with warm copper tones. Porcelain is the man-made option, non-porous and low maintenance, in a wide range of colours and large formats. The first three are grouped together under natural stone paving if you want to browse them side by side.

It comes down to the look you want and how much upkeep you're happy with. Porcelain is the easiest to live with, since it doesn't absorb water, doesn't need sealing and keeps the same colour year after year. Natural stone gives you texture and variation that porcelain can't match, and it settles into a garden over time, but it's porous so it benefits from sealing. As a rough steer, sandstone suits older houses and traditional gardens, limestone and porcelain suit modern schemes, and slate works where you want warmer colour. Order a few free samples before you commit, because paving looks very different in your own garden than it does on a screen.

Plenty of options, and the size you pick changes the look of the finished patio quite a bit. We stock 1200 x 600, 1000 x 500, 900 x 600, 800 x 800, 600 x 600, 600 x 450 and 600 x 300. Bigger slabs mean fewer joints and a cleaner, more contemporary finish, which is why large paving slabs have become so popular. Smaller sizes suit narrow paths and tighter spaces. If you'd rather have a mix of sizes laid in a random pattern, our patio packs do that in one order.

It varies by material. Our Indian sandstone comes in 18mm and 22mm depending on the product, with 22mm being the usual choice for a patio. Thickness is listed on each product page, so check there before you order, especially if you're matching new paving to something already down. Thicker isn't automatically better for a patio. What matters far more is the sub-base underneath, which is what actually stops slabs cracking or settling.

Measure the length and width of the area, multiply them to get the square metreage, then add 10 to 15% on top. That covers cuts around edges and curves plus the odd breakage, and it saves you waiting on a second delivery halfway through. All our paving is priced per square metre, so you can order to the area rather than counting individual slabs. It's worth keeping a couple of spares back too, since natural stone varies from batch to batch.

Natural stone and porcelain both go down on a full mortar bed over a compacted sub-base, usually MOT Type 1 at a minimum of 75mm. Porcelain also needs a primer or slurry on the back of each slab to bond properly, which natural stone doesn't. Each slab is bedded onto the mortar and tapped down to level, with even gaps left for jointing afterwards. Our laying guide for beginners walks through the whole job.

Natural stone does benefit from it. Sandstone, limestone and slate are all porous, so sealing stops water, oil and stains soaking in and makes moss and algae harder to establish. Porcelain doesn't need sealing at all, because it doesn't absorb anything. If you're going down the natural stone route, our guide to sealing a patio covers when and how to do it.

For questions about delivery times, costs, returns, or anything else about your order, head over to our main FAQs page, where we've covered all the details.