Flagstone is known to be an easy material to work with due to the flat, thin nature that comes from the splitting layers of sedimentary stone. The large, flat stones are used in a variety of landscaping projects ranging from patios, paths, walkways, seating areas, and walls. Flagstone pavers are available in several different colors, shapes, and thicknesses. Being a natural stone, the colors are characteristic of their original region. The color palette for flagstone varies from red, pink, orange, brown, blue, gold and even white. The stone ranges in thickness, although it is recommended for the stone to be at least 1” thick in areas that will endure heavy traffic or weight. Why Choose Flagstone for Your Project: Flexibility- Due to each stone's unique shapes and colors; flagstone gives you a lot of opportunities with its design and can bring an immense amount of character to your space. Options- Flagstone can be laid as a solid surface by being integrated with concrete or the stones can be laid individually allowing mulch or plantings to grow between. Texture-The stone makes it a perfect walking surface for paths and seating areas by providing a natural non-slip surface. Color- It can be laid as one consecutive color or can be laid with a palette of complementary colors that will provide a mix of the earth’s natural hues throughout your landscape. Flagstone Paver Benefits: The natural variety of each stone provides a unique element to your space-there will never be two areas exactly the same! Flagstone is also very durable giving it more benefits than its high visual appeal; it will save you money compared to less durable more expensive materials available. Flagstone is also low maintenance. It needs very little upkeep, and if a stone is damaged it’s a simple fix. Laying the flagstone dry or with plant material in between makes the surface permeable which has the benefit of ground-capture runoff, reducing water evaporation and let alone is more appealing than other materials. Moss, turf or ground cover can be planted throughout the stones providing an inviting and relaxing space. Coverage: One Ton of 1″ flagstone will cover approx 150 square feet One Ton of 1.5″ flagstone will cover approx 100 square feet One Ton of 2″ flagstone will cover approx 75 square feet flagstone comes in a variety of sizes, thickness and colors. This will help you understand the difference of each type and also aid in the terminology used when ordering. Paving Stone This stone will range from the size of your hand up to one half the size of the pallet. Generally with the Patio Stone there will be 4-5 pieces of stone per layer. This is perfect for step stones or a smaller patio. If a pallet has over 5 pieces per layer then it is best to mortar that stone in because smaller pieces will tend to move. Slabs These pallets of stone will have one piece per layer, some times two, these are great for big step stones. They may be a little hard to wrestle, but once they are in place, they aren’t going anywhere. Stone masons like the larger sizes for patios because they can cover a large area quickly and will have fewer grout joints to deal with. Mixing the slabs with regular patio stone will keep your cost down because the larger the piece is generally the more it will cost, we mixed slabs and patio stone because of the size of the area we were covering. Stand up or Select Stone These pallets of flagstone will have even larger pieces than the slabs. They don’t hang over the edges of the pallet and load onto the freight truck better. Some quarries offer all the options above, while some of the smaller operations only offer patio stone and sometimes slabs.If you are laying a mortared patio and you purchase a pallet with large and small pieces, make sure you mix all the sizes together as you go. It’s a natural tendency to grab all the choice pieces because they fit together so easily. You will end up with small and lesser quality pieces to finish with. If you start with the larger pieces and end with the smaller it will be very noticeable. When selecting flagstone, don’t only select for color, but size and quality as well. Quarried flagstone There are basically two ways this stone is produced. Some quarries are lucky enough to have stacked thin layers of stone that are not bonded or are separated by a thin layer of shale, clay or dirt. It’s simply a matter of unearthing this material, and stacking it on a pallet. This stone is referred to as “natural face” flagstone, and has some texture, undulations, and sometimes fossils.The other method for producing flagstone is to unearth large blocks stone, parting the lamination lines with a sharp chisel and hammer. This is obviously very labor intensive and usually yields larger pieces and a smoother surface.