Slate

Riven Slate is a blend of natural variation and beauty. The surface is rough and ready as you would expect from a classic slate and retains it’s natural feel, but also provides a beautiful colour palette that is irreplaceable by other types of paving.

Its coloured surface will help accentuate any features you choose to add to your space. A fantastic, stylish choice.

The two to know are price and the layered structure. Slate is one of the dearer natural stones we sell, and because it formed in layers under pressure, thin flakes can occasionally lift from the surface on riven slabs. Our Vijaya Gold Slate is calibrated to 22mm, which keeps this to a minimum. Slate also needs a full mortar bed rather than spot bedding, and the darker tones show dust and pollen more than a buff stone.

Our slate paving is £45.91 per m² for Vijaya Gold mixed size packs, sold in 1, 5, 10, 15 and 17m² packs. On top of that, allow for Type 1 sub-base, sharp sand and cement for the bed, jointing compound and delivery, which is charged by pallet and postcode.

Yes, usually. Flagstone is a general term for riven sandstone and limestone flags, and both sit well below slate in our range. Our Kandla Grey sandstone and Kota Black limestone mixed packs start from around £25 per m², against £45.91 per m² for our Vijaya Gold Slate. You are paying for the colour and the layered, metallic finish, which no sandstone matches. If budget drives the decision, sandstone gives you a similar riven look for close to half the price. 

For looks and longevity, yes. Slate is natural stone with colour running right through it, so it does not fade to a flat grey the way pigmented concrete does, and it will not develop the blotchy surface wear concrete gets after a few winters. Every slab is different, which concrete cannot replicate. Concrete wins on price and on uniformity, so if you want a cheap, perfectly matched surface it still has a place. 

Slate has a naturally rippled surface with good grip, so it is no more slippery than other natural stone when clean. Our Vijaya Gold is riven on the face with sawn edges, which gives texture underfoot. The risk, as with any paving, is algae in shaded or damp spots, which turns any surface slick. Lay the patio with a slight fall so water runs off, and clean it once or twice a year. Avoid gloss sealers, which can make a wet slate surface worse. 

A little surface flaking is normal on riven slate and is not a fault. Slate is formed from layers compressed over thousands of years, so loose fragments can lift from the face in the first season or two, then stop. It is cosmetic, not structural, and the slab stays sound. Calibrated 22mm slabs like our Vijaya Gold flake less than thin, uncalibrated slate. Proper laying matters too: a full mortar bed stops water sitting under the slab and working into the layers in frost. 

No, sealing is optional. Slate absorbs very little water, so unlike sandstone it does not need sealing to stay sound. Many people seal it anyway because a sealer deepens the colour and brings out the gold, copper and blue tones in Vijaya Gold, which otherwise soften as the patio weathers. If you do seal, use a matt or natural-finish sealer rather than a gloss, and expect to redo it every few years. 

Our slate paving comes in one colour: Vijaya Gold, sometimes called rustic slate. It is a black slate base shot through with gold, copper and blue tones, so no two slabs are alike and the colour shifts as the light changes through the day. It is the most decorative stone in our paving range and suits both contemporary and traditional gardens. We sell it as mixed size packs containing 90 x 60cm, 60 x 60cm, 60 x 29cm and 29 x 29cm slabs, all calibrated to 22mm thick.