Dark Porcelain

Yes, for cars, with the right build. Our dark porcelain is 20mm thick , so it needs a full mortar bed over 150mm of compacted Type 1, with a primer on the back of each slab. The colour is the real advantage: tyre scuffing and oil spots are almost invisible on charcoal and black, and unlike black limestone, porcelain never fades to grey or needs sealing to keep its depth. 

No, they are the same slabs. We stock one specification of outdoor porcelain, 20mm thick, and the same ranges appear under both garden and driveway paving. We do not stock a thicker driveway-grade porcelain. What changes for a drive is everything beneath: 150mm of compacted Type 1 rather than around 100mm, a continuous mortar bed with no voids, and joints at least 5mm wide filled to full depth. 

Dry dust, pollen and salt residue show more against dark porcelain than against grey, as pale deposits stand out on a black surface. The flip side is that it hides everything else: mud, oil, tyre marks and general road dirt disappear. Because porcelain absorbs nothing, a hose or a jet wash takes dust straight off with no scrubbing and no staining left behind. 

Yes. We stock Cathedral Anthracite porcelain cobbles in 20 x 10cm, which match the Cathedral Anthracite slabs exactly, and Modello Black cobbles from £2.00 each. There is also Modello Black porcelain edging in 100 x 16cm at around £14.00. These suit borders rather than a full driving surface. For the hardest-worked edge, our Silver Granite or Kota Black limestone cobbles are thicker and tougher. 

Yes, slightly. Our Stone Anthracite 61 x 61cm from £13.01 per slab and Eco Stone Modello Black 100 x 50cm have less unsupported area to flex across than a 120 x 60cm slab, so there is less margin for error in the bed. They are also cheaper to replace if one does crack. Large formats sometimes look better on an open drive, but demand a perfect mortar bed with no hollows anywhere. 

No. Porcelain is fired to an extremely hard surface, considerably harder than the grit and sand that gets tracked onto a drive, so tyres grinding debris across it will not scratch the slab. What can happen on a dark surface is that fine scuffing from rubber shows up more than on grey, though this is a deposit sitting on top rather than damage, and it washes off. 

Yes, provided you pick a textured range. All our outdoor porcelain is made slip-resistant, but Cathedral Anthracite and Vesuvio Anthracite have the most pronounced stone-effect surface, which gives the best grip for tyres and feet on a gradient. Portland Night and Cardosa Anthracite are smoother and better suited to level ground. On any slope, make sure water runs off rather than down the drive towards the house.