How to make European bluestone darker?

Bluestone is the beautiful and porous sedimentary rock that is utilized across various landscapes including walkways, driveways, patios, and even around swimming decks. It tends to feature a natural grey or blue colour –hence, the name bluestone. The colour of this natural stone is known to range from light shades to darker shades.

One of the most beautiful variants of bluestone pavers is the European bluestone paver. This variant is quite popular amongst homeowners and property owners in Australia and is mostly imported to Australia from Europe. The European variant of bluestone pavers is known to be consistent in colour throughout and can be enhanced in colour for improved aesthetics.

In addition to the overall visual appeal, there are additional benefits of using European bluestone pavers as well. Right from being highly durable to its high-grade non-slip rating, slightly honed surface, and availability in all shapes & sizes –all of these factors tend to make European bluestone pavers quite popular amongst Australia homes.

Reasons to Make European Bluestone Darker

Many people tend to prefer darker natural stones upon installation in their walkways or patio areas. A darker tone for the European Bluestone helps in imparting improved visual appeal to the given area. Moreover, it also adds a touch of elegance and timeliness to the already beautiful natural stones that are imported from Australia.

European bluestone pavers are known to have a unique charm to itself. As such, when the stone gets enhanced by darkening the same, it only adds to its overall value. If there is the option of enhancing the colour of European bluestone pavers during the time of production, then the given sealer might get wear off with time. This tends to leave the natural stone lighter in appearance over time. In such a case, you can go for the option of darkening the colour of the natural stone by the application of some topical sealer or grouting.

Importance of Grouting European Bluestone Pavers for Darkening Its Colour

Grout is referred to as the cement that is used for filling the gap that exists between natural stone pavers or tiles. Grout serves to be an important component of flooring as it not only helps in keeping the tiles at their place, but it also helps in improving the overall aesthetics with darkened natural stones. Some of the additional benefits of using grout for the European bluestone pavers in your premises are:

• Giving the floor a crisp and finished appearance
• Keeping dirt & debris from getting in or between the tiles
• Adding to the overall rigidity or strength to the process of tile installation

It is important to make use of the right grout material for achieving the desired results. You can ensure the same by measuring the space between the pavers for optimum results.

• If the space appears to be more than 1/8^th of the inch, then you should make use of sanded grout. When you tend to use unsanded grout, it will sink during the curing process while not filling into the gap properly.
• If the overall width appears to be 1/8^th of the inch or even smaller, then you can consider making use of the unsanded, epoxy, or acrylic latex grout for completely filling the given gap with the grout material.

How to Darken the European Bluestone Pavers with Grout?

While grout finds its applications in the process of filling the gaps between the pavers, you can also make use of the same for imparting a darker color to the natural stone pavers or tiles. If you have installed European bluestone tiles outdoors –on the driveway, walkway, or the patio area, the chances are that with time, its colour might fade. To ensure that it remains the same throughout, you can consider darkening the same with the help of grout.

For achieving the same, you can make use of charcoal grout. The charcoal grout is an aesthetic dark-grey coloured grout material that is known for its versatile uses. One of its major benefits is that it is water-resistant and can, therefore, be utilized perfectly for both floors & walls. Charcoal grout is known to blend well with European bluestone pavers –in the typical dark grey or blue shade.

For darkening the tiles or pavers, it is recommended to grout the surface multiple times for making it darker. At the end of the grouting process, sealing is done to complete the process and improve the overall beauty of the tiles. Charcoal grout is considered great for tiles or pavers of lighter shades. Therefore, if you are experiencing a decline in the colour range or shade of the European bluestone pavers, then you can go for the option of grouting the same with charcoal grout of the best grade out there.

While grouting, it is recommended that you should be careful about removing the residue grout from the tiles. This is because if you would leave the same on the pavers, it would ultimate over-stain the tiles. Therefore, you should also keep a grout remover handy while implementing the task of darkening the European bluestone pavers.