Sandstone
Sandstone was formed in excess of 300 million years ago; it is a sedimentary, carboniferous rock, created by the actions of wind, pressure, heat and water which combined quartz, mica and feldspar, together with natural bonding agents such as silica, calcium carbonate, iron oxides and clays to produce it. The resulting stone, has been a large part of the construction industry for centuries.
Sandstone paving was traditionally produced by splitting layers from a block extracted from the quarry. Split or riven paving remains a popular choice today mainly for commercial conservation projects, although the domestic market is taking a greater interest in this product. More recently, sandstone or “York”stone paving has been produced by the process of diamond-sawing blocks of stone into slabs and then into paving flag and sett dimensions, in a variety of sizes and finishes. Some sawn sandstones can be textured by flaming the surface whilst others are shot-sawn, sandblasted, picked or chiselled to achieve a slip resistant surface finish. For a greater in depth description of how sandstone is manufactured and quarried, please contact our BBS UK sandstone sales team on +44 1924 241 100.
Historically, sandstone has been sourced in the UK, mainly from the Pennine areas of northern England, this is how the name Yorkstone was arrived at. As the popularity and demand for natural stone products has grown the UK suppliers have had to look at other countries with a view to importing sandstone to keep up with the needs of this constantly growing market. BBS and BBS Granite Concepts have been able to source a technically and visually equivalent material to the two colour Yorkstone currently used in the UK for commercial applications. This new stone can be viewed opposite. It is available in sawn, flamed and sandblasted finished and can be manufactured into tactile paving if required.
To see it laid please view our case history page for a full PDF download.