The right paving elevates gardens, driveways and public spaces, enhancing the aesthetics, accessibility and safety. It also has a big impact on maintenance, ongoing costs, and disruption. The focus is often on choosing the right materials, ensuring they are durable and look fantastic. However, you also need to consider the finish. We want to take a closer look at that here, comparing smooth and riven. Then, if you want to order incredible smooth sawn Yorkstone paving, you can rely on us.

Two very different finishes

When you think of traditional natural stone, you likely imagine a rough, textured, uneven surface. That is how it looks in nature. You achieve it by splitting the stone along the natural planes. This is known as a riven finish. It looks great, giving each stone a unique, organic appearance.

The alternative is a smooth finish. Here you have stone that is flat and consistent. In many cases it looks highly reflective. Creating it typically requires a diamond saw blade to get a fantastic, accurate cut. Some paving can then have further finishing such as honing or polishing. However, others won’t to ensure they still have a slight, subtle texture.

Key things to consider

Before deciding on smooth or riven paving, you need to consider three important things. Firstly, what is the setting? The natural stone look is ideal for period properties, informal gardens, and public places with a lot of traditional character. The smoother, consistent finish works best for new developments and modern architecture, especially where a clean look is a must. Speak to us about smooth sawn Yorkstone paving.

Secondly, you need to consider safety. The key thing is slip resistance. Smooth, highly polished paving can be very slippery when it is wet or cold and frosty or icy. So, there are products you can’t use for external spaces or around pools. You need at least a slight texture to ensure the surface is slip resistant. Riven finishes naturally offer better footing and can provide good drainage.

Finally, think about maintenance. Smooth paving is much easier to maintain because dirt sits on the surface. It’s also harder for moss or algae to establish itself. A brush or wipe is typically all it needs. The texture of riven paving does the opposite, so it is harder to maintain and typically needs cleaning more frequently.

Explore a wonderful range of smooth sawn Yorkstone paving

It’s important to carefully consider the differences between smooth and riven paving. Think about the setting and your priorities. If you need some help or advice, we’d be happy to work with you. We’re passionate about providing incredible stone pavers, steps, borders, walls, door surrounds, and more.

If that wasn’t reason enough to contact us, we also have a really impressive range of products. It includes grey stone, buffs, browns, and more. We specialise in smooth sawn Yorkstone paving because it looks fantastic in any setting and lasts a long time thanks to the outstanding durability. But, we also have rustic and reclaimed products too.

So, get in touch today to learn more or browse our website for an idea of what we offer.