Natural Stone Patios

Where do you typically build these patios?
Most natural stone patios are built to provide functional space off from the home. There primary purpose is to provide gathering places for outdoor activities and scenic views of the back yard, home architecture, Houston landscape, and nighttime skyline.

Do you mean a specific type of stone or a stone that looks like it was found in nature?
It is the natural appearance of the stone to which we are referring. Stones that aren’t cut, honed, or finished look much like stones we find in remote places. A natural stone patio has irregular edges as a result.

Patios have irregular boundaries, we really mean irregularly constructed. There is no obvious sense of order, although on our end, we have to take a lot of time to painstakingly fit them together by hand.

What types of stones are these?
The same types of stones in other Houston landscape designs. Bluestone, limestone, and flagstone are commonly bought from quarries in a rough-cut shape ideal for natural stone work of this kind.
What attributes make natural stone desirable?
It fits in well with nature. It is causal and relaxed.

How are these stones arranged?
They are arranged in a deceptively naturalistic way. In reality, they have to be pieced together by hand, almost as if fitting together a jigsaw puzzle. Workers have to search for one stone that fits with another, so the project is not going to be finished overnight.

At other times it may even be necessary to break a large stone to make two pieces that fit together with each other and with surrounding stones. This may even involve chipping off part of the edge or hand chiseling the stone. Whatever we can do to make a Houston landscape look authentically natural with our work, we will do in this instance.

Why do you go to so much trouble?
Because the alternative is to do what cheaper landscaping and gardening services do. They put all the pieces together regardless of how they fit and this makes for too much of a gap. They then grout in or fill in the spaces with trash pieces of stone. You end up with big pieces and a bunch of little pieces that doesn’t look all that good.

Are they laid down with no grout or mortar?
No, both are needed. Proper installation requires a concrete sub slab (typically 4" thick), then they are laid on a mortar bed about 1" think. Grout is then added between the stones. The concrete is not visible.

What architectural styles does is support?
As design goes, it allows the design to connect architecture in a way with the Houston landscape and resolve conflict with nature. It can even work in modern landscape as juxtaposition to modern form.

What other structures?
In Houston landscape renovations where preexisting structures are not in axial alignment with one another, a natural stone walkway can be very useful that structures are not parallel. That type of walkway can create the perception of linearity between say an entry garden or courtyard as you move toward an outdoor room or swimming pool in the back.