Natural
The face the bed gives, split and dressed only at the edges. Matt, slightly uneven, the best grip of any finish. Courtyards, ghats, farmhouse paving.
Surfaces
Thirteen finishes, explained
Finish changes appearance, slip resistance and maintenance — in that order of what people notice, and the reverse order of what matters. Here is what each one is for.
The full set
Every finish we run.
Sawn / machine cut
Gang-sawn flat with a fine saw texture. The honest workhorse for exterior paving where you want flat but not shiny.
Diamond cut
Sawn on a diamond blade to a clean, tight edge. Straighter joints and less grinding on site than a hand-dressed slab.
Honed
Ground flat and left matt. No glare, no slip when wet, and it hides scratching. Offices, hospitals, stair treads.
Table polish
Polished flat on the table before dispatch — laid and ready, no grinding on site. Faster on a job with a tight programme.
Semi polish
Stopped short of full gloss. Reads soft rather than wet, and it does not show every footprint the way a mirror does.
High polish
Full gloss, taken through the whole grit sequence. Interior floors and feature walls only — it is slippery wet.
River wash
A rippled, water-worn face. Grip comes from the texture, not a coating, so it does not wear off.
Shot blast
Blasted to an even, finely pitted matt face. Grip without the ripple of a river wash — and it takes the shine off without losing the colour.
Cotton finish
A fine, evenly pitted face — the softest texture we run. Bathrooms, pool surrounds and anywhere bare feet meet water.
Leather / antique
Brushed to a soft, faintly textured sheen. Grip closer to honed, look closer to polish.
Rock faced
Split by hand so the face stands proud. Elevations and boundary walls — it throws a shadow line that moves through the day.
Calibrated
Not a look — a tolerance. Machine-ground to an even thickness so tiles lay to a consistent bed depth.
Choosing
Start from where the stone is going, not from how it looks.
| Where | Specify | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Interior living floor | Semi polish or table polish | Even, easy to clean, safe in socks |
| Lobby or feature floor | High polish | Depth and reflection; interior only |
| Kitchen | Honed, sealed | Polish shows acid marks; honed hides them |
| Bathroom floor | River wash or cotton | Grip when wet matters more than looks |
| Stair treads | Honed with anti-skid grooves | Code compliance and grip |
| Courtyard, verandah | Natural or sawn | Texture gives grip, weathers well |
| Driveway, parking | Natural or rock faced, 40 mm+ | Grip and thickness carry the load |
| Ramp | River wash | The most grip of any finish we run |
| Elevation, boundary wall | Rock faced or leather | Shadow line and texture at distance |
| Pool surround | Cotton finish or river wash | Non-slip wet, cool underfoot |
The one rule worth remembering
Polish inside, texture outside. A mirror-polished exterior surface is a fall waiting to happen the first time it rains, and weather will take the polish off within a couple of seasons anyway.