Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary, carboniferous rock, formed over 300 million years ago. The dynamic actions of wind, pressure, heat and water facilitated the combination of quartz, mica and feldspar, together with natural bonding agents such as silica, calcium carbonate, iron oxides and clays to produce this attractive and versatile material. The resulting stone, has been a large part of the construction industry for centuries.

Sandstone paving was traditionally produced by splitting (or riving) layers from a block extracted from the quarry. Riven paving remains a popular choice today mainly for commercial conservation projects but also for the thriving domestic market. 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 shotsawn, sandblasted, picked or chiselled to achieve an attractive slip resistant surface finish.

Historically, sandstone has been sourced in the UK, mainly from the Pennine areas of northern England (hence “York”stone). Increasingly, as the popularity of natural stone products has grown dramatically, vast amounts of sandstones are now being imported to meet the ever increasing demand for this attractive, durable product.