Tony McC
Site Agent
Group: Moderator
Posts: 10917
Joined: July 2004 |
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Posted: 16 July 2019,10:05 |
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You raise an important point about paving displays - they are not always all they are cracked-up to be!
It's a discussion I've had with several manufacturers - they spend thousands, and I mean several thousands quid - creating these showpiece display areas in such-and-such a yard, and for a couple of week's it's the Bee's Knees. Then, the stocklist gets a big order of timber come in, and needs somehwre to park it while a more suitable space is found, so it gets dumped on that paving display.....and it's still there a fortnight later. Or maybe they need a mini-skip for the dust and detritus and litter from the yard....where could they park that?
If it doesn't get buried beneath "other ctrap", it doesn't get swept, cleaned or maintained in any way, so it gradualkly gets covered in crud, weeds start to grow, the paving gets dirty and discoloured....and within 12 months it's more of an advert for what NOT to buy!
The manufacturers often claimn the yard owners are responsible for loking after the dispaly, whereas the yard owners tell me they expect the manufacturer's rep to maintain it when they make their regular visit to enquire how sales could be boosted. Betwen them, it never gets done, and it's the public that loses out.
So when you find a genuinely good display area, such as the London Stone example you mention, it deserves wider promotion. I always recall the now-abandoned and much-missed display area that Tobermore had at a garden centre near Leyland in Lancashire. For the 3-4 years it was there, you could have eaten your dinner off that paving. It was permanently immaculate and painstakingly maintained at a level of near-perfection because guess what? The display actually sells the paving!
I feature two such displays on the main website - Cowley Stone near Worksop - a work of art in natural stone - and Landscape World near Widnes in Cheshire - an amazingly comprehensive overview of all that is best in paving and hard-landscaping. These are classy examples of how paving *should* be sold to both the trade and the general public.
Anyway, on to your Antique Yellow Sandstone which is actually a limestone. It's a reasonable choice, a reliable stone with no real probvlems when properly laid. I have some in my own garden and I clean it once a year with a well-known biocide and that's all it asks of me. It keeps its colour and texture, it's bloody good value for money, and it's wickedly underused in this country. Go for it!
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Site Agent - Pavingexpert
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