Why slabs vary in shade, and what to do about it.
It’s rock. The variation is the point — but it needs managing when you lay.
The reason
Sandstone is cut from a quarry face that changes as it’s worked. Two pallets from the same range, weeks apart, can differ noticeably in tone. Riven faces also catch the light differently depending on which way the bedding runs. None of this is a defect, and it isn’t something a supplier can grade out.
What we do
We keep batch numbers with every pallet. If you’re ordering more than one pack, tell us it’s for one patio and we’ll pull from the same batch where we can. If you come back a year later for an extension, we’ll tell you honestly whether the current batch will match.
What you do
Open every pack before you start and lay out slabs from all of them. Mix as you go — never work through one pallet and then start the next, or the patio will have a visible line across it. Lay with the riven grain running the same way. And look at it wet: the differences flatten out.
