If you are looking to improve the appearance and functionality of your outdoor living space, one of the most wonderful choices you have is the installation of a bluestone patio. It will bring beauty to your landscape design and years of enjoyment. Here is how a bluestone patio would improve your Brookline, MA, landscape.
What Is Bluestone?
Bluestone is a type of flagstone, a naturally quarried stone that is unique to Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. The term “bluestone” is not a geological term but rather refers to its unique blue-gray appearance. Bluestone gets its color from various minerals and can range from deep silvery blue to charcoal, deep or lilac purple, green rusty copper, or chocolate brown—and often, these colors are present to some degree on each individual stone. Because of the color variety, any hardscape created using bluestone is considered unique.
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Uses for Bluestone
The look of bluestone is a popular choice for paver patios, pool decks, and in various indoor and outdoor architectural elements, including accents. Pavers that closely resemble bluestone are resistant to the kind of fading that is known to happen to natural stone. These manufactured products offer dramatic and varied colors, as well as wonderful texture. Slip-resistant, bluestone pavers are also great for hot tub surrounds.
Bluestone products resist water and oil absorption. This makes them resistant to cracking from the freeze/thaw cycle or erosion from household chemicals. They are also mold-resistant and mildew-resistant, which makes these pavers a perfect choice for outdoor living spaces in the occasionally rainy or humid Massachusetts climate.
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Maintenance Requirements
Bluestone pavers can be easily cleaned with water and a brush. Over time, leaves, grass, and mud may stick to the bluestone pavers. If these materials can’t be removed with a garden hose, just use dish soap and scrub the stones with a brush. Stains usually don’t form on bluestone unless a substance is allowed to sit for some time. In case your pavers get stained from household chemicals (like pool chlorine), oils, or acidic foods, it can be scrubbed with a vinegar solution or power-washed. In some cases, bluestone pavers will develop efflorescence, which is a whitish powder that is the result of minerals leaching from the stone (chlorine can also give the appearance of efflorescence). This is easily removed using mortar cleaners or white vinegar and a brush.
The main attraction of a bluestone patio tends to be its wonderfully unique appearance. Color and texture will vary as the pieces come together during installation. The look of bluestone is equally at home as a patio adjacent to a traditional home, as it is in a rustic wooded setting or even an ultra-modern setting. Choose a versatile paving stone if you want a completely one-of-a-kind patio with richness and personality, ease of maintenance, and design flexibility.
A newly installed patio rejuvenates a landscape and encourages hours of enjoyment in the form of al fresco dining, reading outside, or just relaxing under the stars. A bluestone patio can become the focal point of your landscape design and a conversation piece as you invite guests over this summer.
