Rippon Buff Smooth Indian Sandstone

Rippon Buff Smooth Indian Sandstone displays a warm blend of orange, pink and beige tones, with occasional soft mauve and grey accents across its clean, sawn surface. The natural swirls and fine veining provide depth and movement, revealing even greater richness when the stone is moist. This elegant, colourful palette makes Rippon Buff a popular choice for homeowners seeking a bright yet naturally balanced finish.

This premium Indian sandstone is calibrated to a nominal 20 mm thickness and expertly honed for a smooth, contemporary appearance. Sawn and honed on all sides, each slab features refined edges and a consistent profile. The variety of orange, green and pinkish tones creates a distinctive visual character that stands out while remaining sympathetic to both traditional and modern garden styles.

How Smooth Sandstone Paving Is Produced

• Initial Cutting: The sandstone block is placed on a saw bed and cut into slabs of roughly similar thickness.
• Rough Grinding: The top face of each slab is lightly ground to begin forming a smoother surface, while the underside remains a standard sawn finish.
• Calibration: Thin slabs are removed, and thicker slabs are calibrated to a uniform thickness, leaving either a sawn or grooved underside depending on the cut.
• Precision Cutting: Infrared saws are used to cut the calibrated slabs to accurate final dimensions.
• Inspection & Packing: Around 5–10% of slabs may retain a grooved underside; the majority (90–95%) have a clean sawn base.

⚠️ Paving Expert Advice: Sandstone is naturally porous, and water staining is more noticeable on honed smooth finishes. To minimise this, seal the underside of all sawn sandstone with SBR before installation, ensuring even coverage and full drying. Afterwards, apply Lithofin Stain Stop W to the top and sides to reduce the risk of moisture marking.

Due to sandstone’s relatively low density, sawn edges can be sharper and more prone to minor chipping compared with hand-dressed edges. Some level of chipping is unavoidable across the stone industry. Customers who are particularly sensitive to this characteristic should avoid smooth sandstone with sawn edges, or—if preferred—visit a local yard to handpick individual pieces at an additional cost.

Minor surface imperfections may appear on polished or honed stone and are considered normal for this material. These subtle marks blend naturally once installed and do not affect performance. If customers are uncomfortable with natural imperfections, we recommend careful consideration before purchasing, as such features are not treated as defects.

Small variations in thickness can occur during cutting due to blade movement or vibration. Slightly thinner or thicker pieces are regarded as acceptable within industry tolerances and do not affect normal installation. Should a significant proportion of unusually thin slabs be supplied, we are happy to review the matter and assess an appropriate resolution.