Essential Tips for Choosing The Right Paving Stone

Whether you’re looking for a patio for your backyard or pool space or the fact that you need to spruce up your driveway, there is a large variety of paving materials to choose from and ultimately, what matters is that the type of stone of your choice should fit your style in general and the type of landscape you have in mind. If you don’t happen to be the type that works with contractors for this sort of business and prefers taking matters into his/her own hands, here are a few tips as to how to go about choosing the right sandstone pavers in Sydney or elsewhere :-

• Take a look at some samples: That’s pretty much the first thing that you’d need to do. Most of the companies out there will be more than happy to send over a couple of their samples to you so make sure you get as many of them as you can. That way, you’ll have more than just a few of them to choose from. Oh and not to forget, examine the stone when it’s wet as well as dry. The change can be quite drastic.
  
• Textures or smooth: In most cases, riven stone is of the more cheaper variety and delivers in most situations so long as you focus on choosing the right tone. Would you prefer the old antique look or a more slick contemporary look? Either way, you need to do your homework. Especially in the case of smooth stones that need to be sealed after they have been laid to prevent staining.
  
  Image courtesy: http://blog.lisacoxdesigns.co.uk/
• Thin or thick: For this aspect, you will need to decide where exactly do you plan to lay the stone. If you are looking at a garden setting, then a stone of 25mm depth is just right for walking but it wouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of a car. So if you happen to be planning on building a driveway, you will certainly require stones that are in a depth of 40mm or more.  
  
• Natural stone or concrete: This can turn out to be quite the polarising decision as there are an equal number of people who swear by both or one out of the other equally. Natural stone does have better visual and aesthetic appeal, but a lot of concrete products do offer better value for money as well. Not to mention the fact that it is both durable and relatively cheap as well.
  
  Image courtesy: http://house.ewoodys.com/

Whichever way you look at it, if you happen to be a perfectionist this can be quite the tricky business. From colour to texture to a whole lot of everything, you need to have everything planned out in full detail and an optimum yet great balance of all the factors in order to narrow down your search for the perfect paving stone for your surroundings.

You could also try a mix-and-match method of designating different areas within the main paving area itself, like a defined seating area in the middle or a tributary of smaller paths leading up to the main path. In this regard, even visiting a local supplier could prove fruitful as that would be another way to obtain samples more easily, give you enough room and opportunity to experiment and lastly, you will become much more well-informed to be able to take a final decision, thus putting your mind at ease.