Bluestone & Broken Flagstone Patios & Walkways
Beautiful and Lasting Natural Stone
Shortz Landscape has installed bluestone as walkways, patios and pool surrounds on numerous projects. While "flagstone" is a general term for a flat slab of natural stone cut from a quarry of various deposits, specific stone types include sandstone, slate, bluestone and granite. Surfaces constructed with such stone are durable and attractive, and those natural materials complement outdoor designs.
Shortz uses bluestone quarried quite near us in New York and Pennsylvania. It has strength and versatility, a range of colors beyond the classic blue-grey, and a variety of finishes providing luster and non-slip surface. Since the color is throughout the stone, color will not fade or scratch off. In addition to broad surfaces such as patios,we use bluestone as stair treads, plus capstones for columns and walls.
Shortz is Your Bluestone Professional
Unlike interlocking paver stones, each of a uniform size, flagstone installation requires additional planning, regarding use of uniform (rectangular) or random shape stone. The Shortz project photos below show patio & walkway designs using random shapes as well as projects with uniform stones. The pattern of the stones must work well for appearance as well as alignment with the edges of the installation.
Shortz professionals are experienced in bluestone surface design & installation:
- stone specification
- excavation and site preparation
- installation and compaction of base material
- establishment of slope for drainage
- providing edge restraint at perimeter of stonework
- stone placement, alignment and leveling
- joint filling
Shortz Landscape is ready to review your needs for bluestone use in an existing landscape or new project. Use the slides below to view our past bluestone projects, clicking on any thumbnail preview for a detailed view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is bluestone the same as flagstone? How do they differ from fieldstone?
Bluestone is one type of flagstone, and is named due to the blue-grey tint found on sedimentary stone found in the northeastern US. Fieldstones are stones found in fields buried in the soil, deposited there by glacier movement, They are not formed by layers of sediment nor cut from quarries like flagstone. Fieldstones have random and rounded shapes, and are used in landscapes with mortar to form stone walls, or stacked "dry" to form natural stone walls.
Is all bluestone blue or grey in color?
Bluestone is so named from the predominant color of the product formed in New York and Pennsylvania. Minerals unique to a specific quarry throughout America lead to a range of colors including brown, gold, lilac, grey, white. You will notice in the photographs from past Shortz projects the application of lighter color bluestone to provide "cool to the touch" walkways around swimming pools.
What process converts the stone from the quarry to the rectangular flagstones used in the walkways and patios?
The stone is cut and organized by thickness from half-inch through 2 inches. The stone can be purchased and installed with random or irregular shape. They can be cut to a more uniform rectangular shape for use in closely-laid surfaces with straight, clean edges.The suface of quarried stone shows a rough natural cleft or "split-surface" face, but sandblasting or polishing yields a smoother face. The surface(s) can be flame treated or "thermalled" to be textured, stain resistant and have a slight gloss.