Your Questions for North American Projects, Answered
Get clear, direct answers to the most common questions our distributor and contractor partners in the USA and Canada ask about product performance, installation, and logistics.
This is a critical question for ensuring a long-lasting installation. For a standard walkway with foot traffic, a base of 4-6 inches (100-150mm) of compacted aggregate (gravel) followed by a 1-inch (25mm) sand setting bed is typically sufficient. For a patio that will support heavy furniture and more traffic, we recommend a heavier base of 6-8 inches (150-200mm) of compacted aggregate. For driveway applications or installations over unstable soil, a reinforced concrete slab is the required professional standard.
Yes, our denser stones like Quarzit and most Slates are an excellent choice for saltwater pool surrounds due to their low porosity and high resistance to salt corrosion. The most important feature is their surface. Our flagstone features a “natural cleft” surface, which has an inherent texture that provides excellent slip resistance, even when wet. We can provide technical data on the slip ratings for specific stone types to help you meet safety requirements in your region.
They are two different systems for different project goals. Irregular Flagstone (“Verrückte Pflasterung”) consists of individual, organic-shaped stones. It allows for maximum design freedom and creates a truly unique, artisanal look, perfect for rustic or meandering garden paths. Our Meshed Products feature smaller flagstone pieces pre-arranged on a modular mesh sheet. This system is designed for installation speed and efficiency, making it a cost-effective solution for covering large, geometric patio areas quickly and with consistent jointing.
We solve this through a process called “gauging” or “calibration.” While the top surface of the stone retains its natural cleft texture, the underside is machined to a relatively consistent thickness (e.g., a tolerance of +/- 2mm). This is a critical manufacturing step that saves installers a huge amount of time and effort on-site, as they do not have to constantly adjust the setting bed for each individual paver.
Yes, our high-density materials like Quarzit and Granit are strong enough for residential driveway applications, provided they are installed correctly. For any vehicular traffic, the flagstone must be installed with mortar over a properly engineered, reinforced concrete slab. The strength of the driveway comes from the combination of the robust stone and the solid base beneath it.
This is an excellent question for project planning. Due to the nature of fitting irregular shapes together, the waste factor is higher than for standard square pavers. We typically recommend that our distributor partners advise their clients to order an additional 15-20% of material. This ensures that the installer has enough stone to make the necessary cuts and achieve the perfect, tight-fitting pattern without running short.
The jointing method depends on the desired aesthetic and the base. For a flexible base (gravel and sand), joints are typically filled with polymeric sand, which hardens to prevent weed growth and insect infestation. For a rigid concrete base, joints are filled with traditional mortar for a permanent, solid installation. The width of the joint can also be varied to achieve different stylistic looks.
This is a key advantage of our product. The color in our natural stone runs through the entire body of the material; it is 100% UV-stable. It will not fade or become washed-out, even after decades of exposure to intense sun. Manufactured concrete pavers, on the other hand, use surface-level pigments that are known to fade significantly over time, resulting in a less attractive and lower-value finish.