Indian Sandstone suits Fareham well, given a genuine mix of Victorian, post-war and modern housing along the M27 corridor; in practice that means natural riven sandstone slabs, each with genuine colour and texture variation, laid and pointed. What that means on the ground in Fareham is varied frontages reflecting the mixed housing ages, from Victorian terrace to modern estate, and a conservation area across parts of the historic town centre. Where it earns its keep is period and character properties where a manufactured unit would look out of place; the honest caveat is that as a natural stone it benefits from sealing and can need occasional re-pointing over its life.
About Indian Sandstone
Indian sandstone is a natural riven stone, quarried and split rather than moulded, so every slab carries genuine colour banding and surface texture variation that a manufactured product can’t fully replicate. It is laid on a mortar bed over a properly prepared base and pointed between the slabs, and works particularly well on period and character properties where a manufactured concrete or porcelain unit would look out of place next to original brickwork or stonework. Being a natural stone, it benefits from sealing to help resist staining, and like any natural material it can need occasional re-pointing over its life as joints weather — a genuinely different maintenance reality to a manufactured slab.
Best suited to: period and character properties, patios, paths, and driveways where a natural stone look matters
Less suited to: a completely uniform, unvarying colour and texture across every slab
Ground & property in Fareham
Fareham sits on the M27 corridor at the western edge of the Portsmouth catchment, with a genuine mix of Victorian, post-war and modern housing reflecting the town’s long growth along that corridor. Frontages vary with that mixed housing stock, and part of the historic town centre carries its own conservation area, which shapes what can be done to the older frontages there.
Planning note: a conservation area across parts of the historic town centre