Grey Porcelain

Grey is an incredibly popular outdoor porcelain tile thanks to it’s strong stone-effect, colour palette and long lasting, low maintenance finish.

It is the perfect choice for a contemporary space as it is smooth, consistent and beautiful.

No. Laid properly, porcelain is one of the hardest-wearing patio surfaces you can buy. Our premium grey ranges absorb less than 1% water, so frost can’t get in and split them. When porcelain does crack, the cause is nearly always the base: hollow spots under a slab let it flex and snap. Lay each slab on a full bed of mortar over a compacted sub-base of Type 1 MOT (the crushed stone layer under the patio). Brush a priming slurry onto the back of each slab so it bonds. A heavy knock can still chip a corner, so handle slabs with care.

The difference is the tone, not strength. Silver grey is a light, cool grey. Dark grey sits closer to charcoal. Both are 20mm porcelain with an R11 anti-slip rating, a high grip level for wet outdoor use. Light greys such as Frame Light Grey brighten small or shady gardens but show dirt and leaf stains sooner. Darker greys hide everyday marks better but get warmer in full sun. Our deepest charcoal shades are in the dark porcelain range.

The colour will be consistent, but the pattern is meant to vary. Porcelain is made in a factory, so the base shade stays even. Each slab is printed with a stone design, and better ranges use many different prints so the patio doesn’t look repetitive. Cardosa Grey packs have a large number or unique prints. Budget ranges such as Cathedral Grey use fewer, so some repeats may show once laid. The shade can shift slightly between production batches, so order the whole job at once and mix slabs from different packs as you lay.

Most of our grey porcelain has a natural stone print, but some ranges are much more convincing than others. Antique Grey has a wavy edge that copies hand-cut stone, with realistic veining. Ardenne Grey has a riven texture, the ripped surface of split stone. Holystone Grey looks like veined marble, and the frame range looks like slate. For a plainer, more even finish, Quartz Light Grey and Mercury Grey are simpler and cost less.

Yes. our Grey Porcelain Wall Copings are Italian porcelain in a grey that goes with our grey slabs. They are 50mm thick, and the stone pattern wraps around the edges as well as the top. They come in 60cm x 40cm and 40cm x 20cm, from £12.50 + VAT per coping. They suit wall tops, raised beds and pool edges. They aren’t made as a set with one paving range, so compare the shade with your chosen slab. For step edges, our porcelain bullnose steps match the Cathedral range.

Stretcher bond, laid like brickwork, is the easiest pattern for our 90cm x 45cm Granite Grey and Granite Silver slabs. Offset each row by a third of a slab (30cm) rather than half. This reduces lipping, where one edge sits higher than the next. The slab is twice as long as it is wide, so herringbone works too, though it needs more cuts. Stack bond, with the joints lined up both ways, gives a sharp modern look. Allow around 10% extra for cuts.

Yes, as long as the mix looks deliberate. It works best when each grey has its own job: one for a border, path or separate seating areas, the other for the main patio. Two shades from the same design look like a matched set, for example Frame Mid Grey edging Frame Light Grey. Avoid mixing two similar greys randomly, because it tends to look like a mistake. All our grey porcelain is 20mm thick, so slabs from different ranges sit level on the same bed.

For most small gardens, 90cm x 60cm is the safer choice. Nine of our grey ranges come in that size, starting from around £22 + VAT per m² with Kandla Grey Porcelain. The narrower width also means less waste in the tight spaces. Ardenne Grey at 80cm x 80cm suits a square space and looks calmer with fewer joints, at around £40 + VAT per m². Measure your patio first and choose the size that fits with the fewest cuts.