Driveways & patios
Stone that
settles in.
Natural stone reads as part of the house rather than something bolted to the front of it. Indian sandstone, granite setts, porcelain — laid on a full bed, pointed properly, with falls that keep water off the walls.
Stone is less forgiving than block. There is no lifting one and dropping it back — a flag laid on dabs will rock, ring hollow and crack at the corner where the car sits. So we lay stone the slow way: a full wet mortar bed, every unit bedded solid, primed on the back where the material calls for it.
For driveways we use materials rated to carry a car — thicker sandstone, granite setts, or 20mm porcelain on the right build-up. For patios, the same care but with the finish and jointing tuned to how you will use the space.
Sandstone, granite and porcelain
Indian sandstone is the warm, riven, traditional look — hard-wearing and good value, and it suits the period frontages around the Cheadle and Stockport conservation areas. Granite setts are near indestructible and brilliant for borders, aprons and the strip a car actually drives on. Porcelain is the low-maintenance, colour-stable option that shrugs off stains and barely moves in frost.
We will talk you through which makes sense for your frontage, your budget and how much upkeep you want to do — not just which has the best margin.
Pointing that lasts
The joints are where cheap stone jobs fail first. We point with the right mortar or a quality jointing compound for the material and the gaps, worked in and tooled so water sheds off rather than sitting in the joint and freezing it apart over winter.
Falls are set to run water away from the house and any thresholds, to a border, channel or soakaway. On a patio, that is the difference between a surface you can use in October and a paddling pool.
Common questions
Is Indian sandstone strong enough for a driveway?
The driveway-grade thicknesses are, laid on a full mortar bed over a proper sub-base. Standard patio-thickness flags are not — we spec the right material for a car and tell you the difference before you buy.
Does natural stone need sealing?
Sandstone benefits from a breathable sealer to resist staining and slow moss on shaded elevations. Porcelain does not need it. We finish and advise per material rather than sealing everything by default.
Can you match a patio to my driveway?
Yes — running the same or a complementary stone from the drive through to the garden is some of our favourite work, and it makes a house read as one piece rather than two projects.
Get a price for natural stone
A written, itemised quote covering the base, the surface and the drainage — with a fixed programme and no surprises halfway through.