Bluestone Beautifies Patios, Walkways and Outdoor Living Spaces
Bluestone is the ultimate natural material to enhance the appearance and enjoyment of patios, walkways and other outdoor living spaces. Spending more quality time at home and expanding seasonal living space outdoors are trends homeowners will follow for some time yet. Bluestone is a choice option for homeowners to consider, and Burns Materials offers bluestone with a variety of natural shades and tones to compliment just about any home. Bluestone is an investment in aesthetics, as well as in overall home value.
Bluestone Varieties
When considering it as an option for an outdoor space, there can be a bit of confusion about the varieties of bluestone. Because the material is known generically as “bluestone”, homeowners assume that it offers a range of blue-tones only. While that is true for the Natural Blue Select Bluestone with its silvery blue to blue-gray tones, other varieties of bluestone present a different color pallet.
Natural shades of brown, tan, rust, green and lilac combine with the silvery blue-gray tones in Natural Full Color Bluestone to produce a very different effect from the Natural Blue Select Bluestone. Depending on the specific piece, these alternative shades can create a subtle to bold range of color combinations with the underlying blue-gray tones. This variation allows a skilled mason to create a patio or walkway that is truly unique to the homeowner.
Bluestone attributes this variation in color tones between the Natural Blue Select and Natural Full Color Select bluestone to the many different clays and material deposits left by the groundwater during the stone’s formation. All bluestone offered by Burns Materials is quarried in Pennsylvania – at quarries known to produce distinctive and highly desirable bluestone stock.
A Textured Finish with Thermal Bluestone
Deeper within the quarry, subject to greater weight and pressure, lies a different type of bluestone stock with fewer fault lines. Once cut from the bedrock, this bluestone must be sawn into layers. The stone is then “thermalled” – which involves rapidly heating it with a high temperature torch to create a uniformly rough texture. This surface distinguishes Thermal Bluestone from the natural cleft surface of Natural Blue Select and Natural Full Color Select bluestones, which is irregular and unique to every piece.
Tips for Creating the Perfect Space with Bluestone
Appearance is only one consideration in determining how to create the perfect outdoor bluestone space. A good starting point is to clarify how a homeowner plans to use the space. For example, will the bluestone surround a pool, create an area next to a garden, or pave the way through the lawn?
The answers to those questions may guide a homeowner towards Thermal Bluestone, with its slip-resistant surface, versus the Natural Blue Select or Natural Full Color Select bluestones with their irregular and unique surfaces. Moreover, the more uniformly textured Thermal Bluestone, with its range of precision sizes, may be the better choice for a larger patio area. Although the Natural Blue Select or Natural Full Color Select bluestones are also available in specific sizes, they are attractive when used as quarried with minimal finishing so as to create distinctive and unique shapes in a walkway or small patio.
Consulting an experienced mason to assist with the planning phase will result in greater satisfaction and enjoyment with the outdoor space for many years to come. An experienced mason can assess how best to achieve the homeowner’s objectives and recommend options for the use of various bluestones. Beyond that, the skill of the mason in creating an overall design and selecting the individual bluestone pieces to bring that design to life is instrumental in creating an outdoor space that adds to the appearance, enjoyment and value of the home.
Burns Materials in Bridgeport welcomes homeowners and masons to stop by and see our selection of Thermal, Natural Blue Select and Natural Full Color Select bluestones. Find us at 482 Housatonic Ave, or call us at 203-335-6640.
