Black limestone - have I made the right choice or should I get sandstone?

[R.O.S.S.I]

Just planning the garden and have ordered some black limestone for the back patio. Now after Googling it I've noticed quite a few horror stories of the stones looking awful and washed out once laid and reacting badly to different grouts, sealers, cleaners etc.

I'm just wondering am I setting myself up for a whole world of potential bother with ending up with a patio that doesn't look that great after a couple of months? Or are these people who have not had them fitted by someone who knows what they are doing and haven't done the necessary prep to make sure the slabs are sealed etc? I've read using a good sealer on it will help hugely but I'm thinking could I save myself any potential heartache and just switch to some traditional sandstone rather than limestone. (i'm assuming sandstone is a lot easier to maintain than limestone?!)

Here are a few threads which get my head spinning with it all....

http://www.tilersforums.co.uk/threads/black-limestone-paving-nightmare-please-help.36585/

http://www.pavingexpert.com/stonpv05.htm

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=521669

What would you do? Should I find a different stone or are these things mentioned avoidable if done correctly?

 

[kaptainmarc]

even with a coating it will wear off eventually no matter how good it is. its like waxing your car it will soon wear off.

efflorescence in black building products is a nightmare and is why you don't see many black concrete buildings, normally grey/white/portland is used.

Every black pigmented concrete I have see used looks absolutely awful after 6 months. For the first 6 months it looks fantastic but soon goes down hill.

I would Avoid it to be honest unless you don't mind coating/cleaning every month

EDIT: sorry half asleep, didn't realize solid limestone pavers thought you meant factory made pavers. The sealing comment still stands though

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Thats what im thinking. Would something like this grey indian sandstone be a better shout?

http://infinitepaving.com/product_info.php/cPath/37/products_id/446

Does sandstone fare better?

 

[Maccapacca]

I've got a lot of respect for paving expert and the effort they put into to plain English information, if they say it's a mare it'll be a mare.

 

[Bunka]

We have sawn sandstone in our back garden. It's been down for a couple of years now and is still looking great. I pressure wash it once or twice a year and will use patio cleaner in a month or two to brighten the slabs up a bit further.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

I've got a lot of respect for paving expert and the effort they put into to plain English information, if they say it's a mare it'll be a mare.

Yeh the information on there is fantastic. The section on black limestone is what has basically made me query the decision, i'm glad I Google'd it for more info. Seems it is a right pig to get right.

We have sawn sandstone in our back garden. It's been down for a couple of years now and is still looking great. I pressure wash it once or twice a year and will use patio cleaner in a month or two to brighten the slabs up a bit further.

I've pussied out of the black limestone and rung the supplier to ask to change it to Kandla Grey Sandstone. Good job I did it today otherwise it would have been too late as they were going to ship it today/tomorrow.

 

[boxman2000]

We have a grey granite slab on the garden viranda and sandstone on the patio - the former does get relatively warm under bare foot in the summer but looks good some 18 months on. The sandstone gets really dirty and probably needs to be pressure cleaned 3-4 times a year.