How to Choose Patio Stone

The stone you choose for the flooring can set the whole style and effect of your patio. Here are some tips on the different effects you can get and how to choose patio stone.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Flagstone patios can come in many colors

   Consider flagstone for a smooth, natural look. Flagstone comes in many colors and textures. The prices are variable, too. The stone used for patio flooring is quarried from all over the world and offers different effects. A patio with one of the red tones like Arizona Red Flagstone can evoke a Southwest or brick-like Old World feel. A textured white like Travertine is likely to offer a clean, contemporary look, whereas a gray with colored veining like Three Rivers is neutral enough to work in almost any design. Certain stones like marble are too soft for outdoor patio paving use.

2. Get textures from different cuts of stones. Choose something that blends with your house and garden. Cut stone can be rough cut, tumbled or formally cut and comes in all the natural colors, textures and forms as flagstone. It can be stacked or cemented into matching walls to carry the theme from the patio floor into vertical structures. You can choose small or large pieces.

3. Create your own stone look with cement. Stone shapes can be cast in cement as well. Much like bricks or flagstone, various pavers can be set in place to form your patio. The choice of colors and shapes are enormous.

4. Decorative fine stonework

   Use stone artistically. You can choose stone for your patio as one smooth texture or you can combine different stones and/or shapes to create various effects. There are interesting edgings you can purchase that will add a textural or color contrast to outline or create inner lines within your patio floor. You can also mix and match stone materials to create designs or pictures like a mosaic for your patio.

5. Factor in how your stone will be laid when you choose what kind of stone you want. You will also want to decide how wide a space you want between your pieces stone. Stone can be laid closely fitted on cement to form a smooth patio surface or it can be laid on sand so water will drain between pavers. If you build your patio on sand, the wider the space between stone, the more fill you will need. You can fill with colored or natural polished pebbles, decomposed granite, gravel, tumbled glass or many other decorative materials. Or you can plant groundcovers for a more natural effect.

6. Choose a stone that will work in your area. Keep in mind your climate and conditions when you choose stone for your patio. If you live where there is hot sun, remember that dark colors will absorb heat and can become painful to the touch. Some stone can be slippery around pools and other water features. And if you have hard water in your area, darker colors are likely to stain with white calcium build up, just like light colors can become marred with rust from iron fencing or other stains.

7. The best way to choose stone for a patio is to go to a building products yard and look over the different materials. It helps look at photographs and check out samples to narrow down what you want, but the real effect of a massed stone impact is best seen where materials are spread out.

8. For more information on how to choose patio stone, please see the Resources listed below.

Resources

• Landscape design and growing information
• Marbles, granites etc.
• Stone products