Gold Slate

Yes for cars, with the right build underneath. Our Vijaya Gold is 22mm, so every slab needs a full, unbroken mortar bed over 150mm of compacted Type 1, with a cement slurry on the back of each slab so it bonds. Slate is dense and hard, and the busy gold and copper surface disguises the marks a drive picks up better than any plain slab. Keep point loads off it: jacks, jockey wheels and skips could crack 22mm stone. 

No, they are the same slabs. We list one specification of Vijaya Gold, calibrated to 22mm, and it appears under both garden and driveway paving. We do not stock a thicker driveway-grade slate. What changes between a patio and a drive is everything beneath the slab: 150mm of compacted Type 1 rather than around 100mm, a continuous mortar bed with no voids, and joints filled to full depth. 

Not for durability, as slate absorbs very little and resists oil better than sandstone or limestone. Sealing is worth doing on a drive for two other reasons: it buys time to clean up a fuel or oil spill before it marks, and it deepens the gold and copper tones that make this stone worth buying. Use a matt or natural-finish sealer, never gloss. Seal once the slabs and jointing are fully dry, and expect to redo it every two to three years. 

Our Kota Black limestone cobbles are the natural pairing, as the dark base of Vijaya Gold matches them and the black compliments the gold. At 30 to 50mm thick they are better suited to a trafficked edge than any slab. Silver Granite cobbles are the harder-wearing alternative if you want a cooler contrast. Both need bedding on concrete and haunching behind to act as an edge restraint. 

No. Riven means the face is naturally split and gently rippled rather than sawn flat, and the variation is only a few millimetres, which tyres cross without noticing. Because the slabs are calibrated to an even 22mm, the backs are machined flat even though the tops are textured, so they lay level. The texture is an advantage on a drive, giving grip in the wet and disguising the small scuffs and chips that traffic brings. 

Yes, and it is a good use of the stone. A path takes far less load than a parking area, so the 22mm slabs are well within their comfort zone, and using slate just for the walked route keeps the cost down on a large frontage. Set the path edge with cobbles bedded in concrete so gravel cannot migrate across it, and keep the gravel finished slightly below the slab level. 

Yes, better than most modern paving. The rust, copper and green tones in Vijaya Gold read as weathered and settled rather than new, which sits well with older brick, stone and render, and the riven surface suits a traditional frontage in a way a flat porcelain slab does not. It works with red brick and warm stone particularly well. Against a crisp white modern render it can look busy, where a plain grey would be calmer.