When the poet W. H. Auden tried to imagine paradise, he wrote, “What I see is a limestone landscape.” So do we. Is limestone the right material for your hardscaping project?
Garden designer Julie Farris used Valders Limestone (the same material as is on the kitchen floor) to connect indoors and out. For information and pricing, see Mandarin Stone.
Photograph by Matthew Williams.
Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed of mostly calcium carbonate (the remains of marine fossils) and varying amounts of clay, silt, or sand. As dense as marble, limestone is known as a heavy, hard-wearing stone with a lightly textured surface which makes it an excellent material for patios.
Photograph by Ellen Jenkins.
What is limestone?
For a front path, landscape architect Scott Lewis chose wide 2-by-4-foot limestone pavers because the material stays cool underfoot even in the intense summer heat of the Napa Valley.
There are hundreds of types of limestone available in different colors, textures, and surface treatments, with different amounts and sizes of fossils, and varying degrees of permeability. Some types are better suited for flat exterior surfaces than others.
What are the different types of limestone?
Photograph by Ellen Jenkins.
Photograph by Ellen Jenkins.
There is a broad spectrum of limestone colors: from dark to light gray, green, blue, gold, buff, cream, and white.
One of the good things about a limestone patio is that it does not need to be sealed.
How do you clean and maintain limestone?
Photograph by Jim Powell.
Whereas a bluestone patio may cost approximately $16 per square foot installed, the cheapest limestone starts there and prices can climb to as much as $40 per square foot; surface or edge treatments will add to the final tab.
How much does a limestone patio cost?
While I was sleuthing at stone yards last week, I saw a couple of batches of Indian limestone priced at $5.50 per square foot.
Garden designer Julie Farris discovered the round concrete planters at The Bayberry in Amagansett.
Photograph by Matthew Williams.
Cons:
Are you trying to decide between limestone and bluestone? See Hardscaping 101: Pennsylvania Bluestone.