One of the core components of  most surface materials is paving. There is a vast array of paving to pick from out there and the article below is a guide that will help you decide on what to use.

Sandstone paving: Usually a low priced paving with a wide variety of colors and sizes and patterns. It mostly requires laying it on a concrete slab with a mortar base, which is a more time consuming and expensive. Cutting with a diamond blade is easy. The negative side is that it will pick up dirt and dirt rather easy and is quite porous. Though the application of an Excellent paving sealer is a good solution to this problem

Bluestone is paving: A medium to high priced paving with normally three grades: Natural, semi honed and honed. These are the degree of gloss on the surface of the paper. The natural being polished face the semi honed on with a minor amount of polishing with the being the most polished and a dark grey color and being black, with a grey/bluish color. Like sandstone, bluestone requires laying on a concrete slab with a mortar base. But unlike sandstone is a material that is harder but manageable with a diamond blade. Bluestone comes in a wide variety of sizes and some interesting patterns (Ashlar is a favorite one!) Though sandstone a quality sealer is a fantastic idea. I often recommend a penetrating sealer.

Concrete pavers: Of all paving, this kind had the range concerning color, sizes and patterns. This type of paving can be a low priced and quality paving (such as C&M pavers) or a high priced/ high end paving (Anston paving is a fantastic example). The massive range of concrete paving could be overpowering, and I often recommend the medium to high-end pavers (unless you’ve got a tight budget of course). Think about budget and design and color and that should help narrow down your search. Concrete pavers are quite easy to cut and can be placed on a crushed rock base with sand or a concrete slab on a bed of mortar. I would recommend the application for a good quality sealer.

Granite: A Medium to high priced paving in a wide variety of colors that are lots of and sizes to pick from. Granite such as Bluestone is a material in comparison to sandstone and concrete but will cut OK with a diamond cutting blade. Granite has two surface textures and flamed. Granite requires laying on a concrete slab with a mortar base. I must admit granite is one of my paving materials as it’s quite robust, and will age.