Patio Renovation: Bluestone vs Limestone

[Demelza]

We are embarking on a patio renovation and still undecided on materials. We've narrowed it down to either dimensional cut bluestone or limestone. We want the patio to be very usable for our young children which is why I'm hesitant to use bluestone as it's a bit rougher and more uneven than limestone. I do love the way it looks, though. Any experience with these materials?

 

[JewelFreak]

We have bluestone flags on our patio & like it a lot. The roughness is minor, certainly not enough to injure kids or trip them -- unless they're just learning to walk, in which case they trip on nothing anyway. My only sadness about bluestone is that we also have a flagstone path across the yard & the mower of our lawn guys has broken some when they go over them. Otherwise, I'd say it's simply a matter of how you prefer each look.

--- Laurie

 

[iLander]

Imagine it a year from now, covered with dirt and grime in some areas. I have lots of mildewy areas under shady spots on my patio.

Now pick the darker one.

 

[monarch64]

Limestone structures are very prevalent where I live. The Empire State building and the Pentagon were built with it (see Wiki page on "Limestone.) I'm not familiar at all with bluestone, but just read that one type (bluestone seems to be a term that covers several types of rock) fades over time. I guess I'd want to know exactly where it was mined, and find out if that type is known to fade.

 

[momhappy]

We have bluestone and I love the color variation (from shades of aquas to oranges). It is so versatile when choosing outdoor decor (like furniture, pillows, rugs, etc.).

 

[monarch64]

Demelza, your project has me so intrigued I did some more research. I found this article helpful:

http://www.elaoutdoorliving.com/blog/swimming-pools/patios-walkwayschoosing-materials/

Limestone will be significantly more expensive, but it seems bluestone gets very hot (and you already said it had a rougher texture), so since you have little ones whose feet you care about, I would go for limestone if I were you as it seems to be the superior product.

 

[Demelza]

We have bluestone flags on our patio & like it a lot. The roughness is minor, certainly not enough to injure kids or trip them -- unless they're just learning to walk, in which case they trip on nothing anyway. My only sadness about bluestone is that we also have a flagstone path across the yard & the mower of our lawn guys has broken some when they go over them. Otherwise, I'd say it's simply a matter of how you prefer each look.

--- Laurie

Thanks for chiming in! Yes, I have heard that bluestone is somewhat prone to chipping. Not sure if limestone is any harder, but I will be sure to ask our contractor since I imagine our kids will be riding their bikes on the patio.

Imagine it a year from now, covered with dirt and grime in some areas. I have lots of mildewy areas under shady spots on my patio.

Now pick the darker one.

So you would pick the limestone because you think it will look less grimy? We get a ton of rain and the patio won't get much sun over the winter months, so this is definitely a concern for me.

Demelza, your project has me so intrigued I did some more research. I found this article helpful:

http://www.elaoutdoorliving.com/blog/swimming-pools/patios-walkwayschoosing-materials/

Limestone will be significantly more expensive, but it seems bluestone gets very hot (and you already said it had a rougher texture), so since you have little ones whose feet you care about, I would go for limestone if I were you as it seems to be the superior product.

Thanks for the article! Interesting stuff. I'm surprised to read that limestone is the most expensive since I have found just the opposite to be true -- our contractor quoted us for both materials and bluestone was most expensive and that seems to be the case across the board. That is one of the things that makes this decision so difficult -- there are so many different types of stones and the names are anything but consistent. It's hard to know if you're comparing apples to apples. Talk about analysis paralysis!!

 

[iheartscience]

I have no practical advice, but I love the bluestone! It's gorgeous. That's my vote!

 

[partgypsy]

It's a matter of preference. I think the blue stone looks nicer, but I think the limestone weathers nicer (it weathers soft versus chipping).

 

[Demelza]

Ack, I'm more confused than ever! We went to another landscape supply company yesterday and saw too much! We think the bluestone is gorgeous, but it is extremely rough and I do worry about stubbed toes and skinned knees. One of the main reasons we're doing this, aside from aesthetics, is to create a safe outdoor space for our kids. Our backyard has a lot of levels and rocks and isn't generally very kid-friendly, so this is the space for them. We don't LOVE the limestone, although it is pretty. Then I saw this: tumbled bluestone which is very smooth and also VERY expensive. I don't think I could ever build a house from scratch -- I would go insane with all the decisions one has to make!

Here are a couple of pics of the tumbled bluestone.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Dem honestly I would get the one that will look better when its wet and grimey and I would get the one that will wear better -- chipping would be a no no to me. So for me, I am being practical, and if limestone is darker and also wears down rather than chipping then I would pick limestone. or another stone that will not chip and will look good when its dirty looking and has moss growing between the stones... or maybe that is only my patio

 

[NewShiny]

I don't know anything about bluestone or limestone but we did a major patio reno two years ago and use Belgard pavers http://belgard.biz/collections.php?section=0&ind=5.. I don't even know what they are made of, concrete? You are probrably looking at much higher end materials (please ignore me if that's the case), but we had the same concerns that you did about having a toddler friendly space. We are very happy with our choice, as they are non slippery, but A's cozy coupe and tricycle still work on them just fine. Also, I'm not sure if you live in a rainy area or if the type of stone you are looking at even requires any grout like materials, but after the first application of sand washed away following about a week of rain. You may want to consider polymer sand, which we ended up using and has been great ever since.

I know what you mean about not being able to ever build new - there is no way I could do it either!

Happy hardscaping!

 

[partgypsy]

http://www.ehow.com/info_12043187_bluestone-vs-slate-durability.html

I apologize, I thought the bluestone was the same as slate. It sounds like bluestone is another variety of limestone.

Then I would pick either one you feel is more attractive, as they should have similar characteristics otherwise.


Oops I spoke too soon! Apparently bluestone is just a descriptive term, and can mean any number of kind of rocks, from limestone to basalt to sandstone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluestone

So I would ask additional questions to determine what kind of stone this is and it's characteristics before you make a decision.

 

[momhappy]

Our bluestone is extremely rough and we've never had any skinned toes, etc. (we have young kids too). I will say, though, I'd have to agree that the bluestone gets hot - actually unbearably so in the summer time. On hot summer days, we wet it down with the hose to make it manageable. As far as chipping, yes, it chips, so take that into consideration too. Overall, we are happy with our choice. Like I said, the color in ours is gorgeous and that was something that was important to me. Ours looks kind of like this, but with more color variations (like oranges):

 

[Demelza]

Dreamer -- I agree that picking the one that looks best under typical Pacific NW conditions is a good idea. We get plenty of moss and grime around here during the fall and winter months.

NewShiny -- Thanks for the info on the materials you used!

Part Gypsy -- Yes, it can be very confusing because there can be several different names for the same rock. Generally, though, when people call something bluestone, they are referring to what's in the picture momhappy attached below.

momhappy -- Thanks for your additional thoughts and the warning about the bluestone getting hot. The same is true for the limestone pavers we were considering since they're so dark. I'm surprised to hear you say that the roughness poses no issues for your kids since we've been warned by multiple landscapers that it's not a very kid-friendly material. This can be so confusing!

Anyway, in the end, we went for the best of both worlds -- tumbled bluestone. It's bluestone that has been smoothed over, so you still get the colors of bluestone (though not quite the same range) without the roughness and potential for chipping. I hope we're happy with it! These decisions can feel so monumental at the time. Thanks, everyone, for your input!!