Bluestone/Flagstone question

[Brian]

I'm planning on making my own outdoor patio using Bluestone (similar to what you see here:

. My main concern about the project is how slippery it will be and the cost. First, is there a suitable alternative for Florida climate? From what I understand, Bluestone is quarried in the Northern US, so it may be more expensive to ship and sell in Florida. Next question, it seems somewhat slippery and Florida is a generally wet state. Is there something I can spray on it to give it more texture, without compromising the look of the stone?

Thanks.

[SMS]

I have Bluestone for my pool coping, and it isn't slippery. See "

" Part of the deck is also Bluestone, where the contractor messed up the concrete and it was cheaper to jackhammer out 1" of concrete and lay the more expensive Bluestone, than to remove all the concrete and start over.

On the concrete, the contractor mixed in some polymer stuff when he sealed it, which made it much less slippery. I can't remember if he also sprayed the Bluestone.

See "

" I don't know how this stuff would work on stone.

Bluestone is very expensive, no way around that. Also, you probably want to pick out the pieces yourself, as the colors vary greatly. Some of it is brownish, some is blueish.

It's beautiful stone, and we get a lot of compliments on it. For the pool coping it added a little cost, maybe $1000, over the less expensive stones, but to do a whole patio would probably cost a fortune.

[gfretwell]

I did my pool deck with silver quartzite flagging and it is not slippery at all. This is a natural stone from Idaho. Ruck Brothers in Ft Myers handles it. It is not cheap but it will last forever.

[Dan Espen]

I have some of that in a walkway. It's not slippery when wet.

It's not as durable as pavers. After 15 years I have cracking at the joints and some cracks and peeling of the slate itself. Probably due to NJ climate.