Uncover the unique qualities of our porcelain paving slabs and discover the advantages of choosing London Stone as your supplier. We provide everything you need to know to make an informed choice about whether porcelain is the right choice for your project.

What are the Benefits of Porcelain Paving?

Porcelain paving offers so much for the modern garden—a wide diversity of styles and textures, as well as clean lines, uniform sizing, and consistent colour across every slab. This colour consistency and low maintenance are just two of the reasons to choose porcelain paving and why many people prefer it to natural stone.

High-quality porcelain garden tiles are known for their strength and durability. Able to carry most weights, they withstand heavy foot traffic, as well as any outdoor furniture you’d like to place on them, so you can create a fantastic outdoor living space, perfect for entertaining. If an important family event is coming up, you can impress visitors with the contemporary finish our paving slabs provide, ensuring that your party guests will be talking about your patio for months to come.

Porcelain is ideal for modern life. Hard-wearing, with no need for sealing, it is naturally stain resistant. This means that cleaning porcelain paving can be done with little effort. With minimal attention, your patio, path, or driveway will continue to look as if it was laid yesterday.

With London Stone’s porcelain paving you’ll find over 50 products, featuring carefully curated colours, styles, and price points, as well as textures that emulate natural stone, wood, and concrete. You’re sure to find the ideal choice for your outdoor space.

Find Inspiration for Your Porcelain Project

Visit our blog and find tons of ideas for your porcelain project. Here are some of our top picks to help you choose the perfect porcelain for your new patio.

1. Patio ideas at RHS shows  Designers choose porcelain for show gardens that give lots of take-home ideas.
   
   
2. Mix-and-match paving for design impact Want a bold design? Porcelain paving slabs are ideal for mixing and matching colours, and we show how some of our clients have made the most of this.
   
   
3. The pros and cons of dark paving Dark hard landscaping makes for striking design, but is it right for you?
   
   
4. Designing with XL paving  Stand-out style is made possible with extra-large format outdoor tiles. Find out more about or take a closer look at reasons to choose 800x800 paving.
   
   
5. Why 900x600 paving is so popular We look at why 900x600mm is a practical choice for garden paving.
   
   
6. Combine porcelain slabs and clay pavers and put your own personal stamp on your patio with your bespoke choice of colours and textures.
   
   

For more inspiration, we have teamed up with some of our landscape and garden design clients to create case studies for some inspirational garden projects in the UK featuring our porcelain materials.

Are There Any Drawbacks to Outdoor Porcelain Tiles?

Porcelain has many advantages over other paving materials, but there are reasons why it’s not for everyone. Find out more in Porcelain paving – Pros and Cons.

It’s worth noting that installation costs for a porcelain patio are generally higher than for other paving materials. It's also worth mentioning that unlike natural stone, porcelain doesn’t weather, and weathering is a characteristic that some people like about natural stone and clay. There is also the perception that porcelain lacks a natural appearance. If this is something that concerns you, we urge you to look at our stone-effect porcelain options. Florence Grey, for example, is a very convincing look-alike for natural limestone.  

What Our Customers Say About Porcelain

From homeowners to landscape professionals up and down the country, we’ve supplied thousands of satisfied customers with porcelain paving. Let's hear what some of them had to say about their experience of buying porcelain from London Stone:

Rachel Goozee Garden & Planting Design

www.rachelgoozee.com

As a garden designer, I'm consistently impressed by London Stone's porcelain range. The exceptional quality, diverse styles, and durability make it a top choice for any outdoor space. Porcelain adds a touch of elegance, blending beautifully with natural elements. Truly, it's a game-changer in landscape design.

The Landscape Design Studio

www.thelandscapedesignstudio.co.uk

The beautiful warm tone of the Golden Stone Porcelain paving is the perfect product for those clients wishing for a light contemporary scheme that is easy to keep clean. On one particular scheme we had bespoke swimming pool copings made up with a 40mm downstand, which seamlessly blended with the surrounding Golden Stone tiles. We also used Coppered Oak Millboard for the deck areas to create a successful contrast.

Aspen Landscape Design & Build LTD

www.aspenlandscapeglasgow.co.uk

Jura Beige Porcelain Paving is an exceptional choice for outdoor paving projects, offering not only durability but also an impressive natural appearance. These tiles provide a range of textures and finishes that mimic the look of natural stone, creating a strikingly authentic finish. The warm beige colour and subtle veining add to the overall aesthetic appeal of the design, and the low-maintenance nature of the product is a bonus. I highly recommend Jura Beige Porcelain Paving for anyone looking for a high-quality, natural-looking paving solution that is built to last

The Differences Between Our Porcelain Ranges

When considering porcelain paving, it's important to understand the variety of options available. For a more detailed delve into the differences between our ranges, see About Our Porcelain Paving.

Summary of our ranges

• Luxury Italian Porcelain: Our most extensive outdoor porcelain collection manufactured by world renown supplier, Caesar Ceramics, with the widest selection of colours, sizes, and textures available.
  
  
• Premium Italian Porcelain: Represents exceptional value and has a focus on paving that has the appearance of the finest sawn natural limestones, with detailed and authentic surface textures.
  
  
• Budget Porcelain: Mostly manufactured in India, with a wide range of colours and sizes, this collection offers excellent value for money and high quality. This range also includes budget Italian porcelain, made exclusively for London Stone. It offers a refined but limited colour palette at a surprisingly affordable price.
  
  
• Large Format Porcelain: Perfect for laying in expansive, elegant areas, for sleek design and to cover ground quickly, these 20mm thick outdoor tiles are available in 800x800mm or a 1200x1200mm format.
  
  
• 900x600mm Porcelain: A popular size that is standard in natural stone. The rectangular shape adds movement to a paving design, whereas square pavers tend to create stillness. For more information, check out laying patterns for porcelain paving.
  
  

How we price our porcelain

Ranges overlap pricewise, and our pricing structure ensures that, regardless of your budget or design requirements, there's a porcelain paving solution to fit your project perfectly.

So, if price is the governing factor in your choice of paving, the table below will help you understand what you will find within different budgets. Note that all our porcelain is vitrified with fully rectified edges.

Porcelain, Stone, Clay, or Decking?

We understand that the array of landscaping materials available can be overwhelming when you're just starting your project. This table simplifies your decision-making by providing a clear comparison of key paving materials—Porcelain, Natural Stone, Clay Pavers, and Composite Decking. Each material is detailed with features and pricing, allowing you to easily assess what best fits your budget, aesthetic preferences, and functional needs. Whether you're renovating a garden or designing a new patio, this guide helps streamline your selection process, ensuring you find the perfect material effortlessly.

Why Buy Porcelain Paving from London Stone?

As one of the first suppliers to introduce porcelain paving to the UK market, London Stone have led the way in the supply of high-quality products for any budget. The London Stone story shows that we, as a family-run business, believe in always putting our customers first, offering you products and services tailored your needs.

High-Quality Porcelain Manufacture

Porcelain is crafted from a refined mixture of clay and minerals, ground to a fine powder, and moulded into tiles under immense pressure. The tiles are then fired at temperatures between 1200°C and 1400°C. This vitrification process makes them extremely hard-wearing and highly resistant to moisture, stains, and frost.

Whether Budget or Luxury, all our Italian porcelain tiles are produced to the same high standards and with the same ingredients by Caesar, one of the most experienced porcelain manufacturers in the world. Caesar’s consistent manufacturing approach guarantees that our outdoor tiles are robust and long-lasting, making them ideal for both residential and commercial applications. Find out more about how porcelain paving is made in our visit to Caesar's state-of-the-art factory.

Unlike Italian porcelain paving, our Indian porcelain does not have full-body colour, which is one of the reasons why it comes in at a lower price point. It is, though, exceptionally good quality and, like all our porcelain paving, covered by our 10-Year Guarantee. Find out more in About Our Porcelain Paving.

Benefits of buying from London Stone

When you buy porcelain paving from us, you enjoy advantages often not seen elsewhere.

• FREE 10 Year Homeowner Guarantee
• FREE Next Day Nationwide delivery
• No Quibble Returns
• No split pack charges - order only what you need
• Nationwide Showroom Network

Purchasing from us is easy

In whatever way suits you best, we’re here to help.

• Online: All our paving materials and ancillaries may be bought directly through our website.
• By telephone: Our experienced advisers are happy to talk through all your questions.
• In person: We have ten showrooms where you can view porcelain paving alongside our complete range of slabs and pavers, decking, pergolas, and planters.

We also offer a range of matching steps and coping, giving you the freedom to express your individual taste and create the garden with exactly the features you want.

The UK's Largest Porcelain Steps and Copings Collection

All our porcelain paving colours are available in matching steps and copings with a choice of edge detail.

Having standard, off-the-shelf sizes with popular edge profile options—including 36mm and 20mm bullnose, 20mm chamfer, 40mm downstand and 20mm pencil round—not only gives you a suitable option for every budget, but also a range of styles that gives you true freedom to design your garden, whether contemporary, traditional or rustic, exactly the way you want.

We’re proud to be the only supplier in the UK to offer a 36mm bullnose step profile in porcelain. This thickness adds weight to the appearance of step treads and is standard for natural stone, making it a smart choice when you choose a porcelain that emulates sandstone, granite, or limestone. Browse the UK's largest porcelain steps and copings collection.

Transform Your Garden with Bespoke

Just like natural stone, porcelain can be crafted into anything. Curved cuts, profiled edges, and steps and copings can be made to your exact specifications. 

Having our own bespoke production facility enabled us to pioneer many of the customised porcelain options available today in the UK. When porcelain was first introduced to the market, no supplier was able to offer steps and copings in a 40mm thickness. This was a real drawback compared to some of the options available in natural stone. Skilled operatives at our Bespoke Stone Centre solved this problem. Our 40mm downstand edge profile was an industry first.

Our 36mm bullnose is unique to London Stone. Both our 36mm & 40mm options give standard 20mm porcelain steps a weightier appearance, increasing the similarity in appearance to natural stone, and giving you options in the subtle design detail that is so important to the finished look of a garden.

Porcelain Paving FAQs

Can Porcelain Tiles be Used Outside?

Yes, definitely! In fact, they are the ideal material for the UK climate. This is because they absorb little water (water absorption values are under 0.01% for Italian porcelain and under 0.05% for Indian porcelain), so they are highly resistant to frost. Additionally, their density makes them extremely hard-wearing. Our porcelain pavers are fade-resistant, scratch-resistant, and stain-resistant, with a textured finish to ensure enhanced grip.

The surge in porcelain’s popularity in the UK over the past few years attests to its success as a paving material. In Europe, it’s been a landscaping staple for decades, and the UK is now finally catching up.

Are Porcelain Paving Slabs Slippery?

This is often asked, and the answer is no. In fact, they are a good option for areas that are likely to get wet, such as swimming pool surrounds. Find out more in Are Porcelain Tiles Slippery?

Are Porcelain Slabs Easy to Lay?

Specialist tools and equipment are essential for installing porcelain. Full information about installing our outdoor tiles can be found on our Installation FAQ page or, for a full run-down, with video, of the materials you need and the steps you need to take, see How to Lay Porcelain Slabs.

What size jointing gaps are best for porcelain slabs?

It’s worth noting that, unlike natural stone, each porcelain paving slab is fully rectified. This means there is no dimensional tolerance, and every slab is the same size. Such consistency allows tile spacers to be used when laying, with the result that pointing gaps between slabs are perfectly consistent, adding a crisp quality to the modern design. We recommend joints of 5mm but 3mm joints can also be achieved.

Do You Offer Bespoke Sizes in Porcelain?

Cutting porcelain slabs can be done on site but getting the right finish takes experience and specialist cutting equipment. If you prefer not to do this yourself, we offer a bespoke cutting service to help create paving for the unique features of your project.

Where Can I See Your Porcelain Paving?

We have ten showroom locations conveniently located around the country:

• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Manchester
• Middlesex
• North London
• Surrey
• Hartlepool
• Great Barrow

When visiting our showrooms, you can view our wide range of porcelain paving, view lifestyle displays, and see how products might look when placed in your outdoor space.

We also offer free parking, and love to welcome you with hot and cold refreshments. You’ll feel at home in every location.

How long will it take to deliver my porcelain slabs?

We pride ourselves on our fast-shipping times, keeping a wide variety of items in stock at any time. If your order is placed before 1pm, we can usually deliver your products the next day. Find out more in our general FAQ section. Bespoke orders need to be manufactured before shipping, so the lead times for these items can vary. For further information, please speak to a member of our team.

Can I Return My Porcelain Slabs if I Am Not Happy with Them?

It is rare that our customers are unhappy with our products. However, in the unlikely event of an issue developing with your outdoor tiles, we will do our utmost to ensure a suitable resolution is found. In these instances, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible, so that we can put the issue right for you fast. Rectifying order issues is more difficult once your items have been installed, so we recommend that you get in touch as quickly as possible.

We also understand that sometimes people change their minds. When purchasing your porcelain slabs from London Stone, you have the right to cancel your order and return your items within 14 days of delivery. Find out more in our FAQs on Returns. The only exception to this is bespoke and pre-sealed items which cannot be returned unless they are damage or defective. Please note that your patio slabs must be returned in their original condition and packing.

If your outdoor tiles are faulty, damaged, not fit for purpose or not as described, you have a 30-day period in which to return them. We will also collect the materials at our own cost, taking full responsibility in these situations.

Do You Offer an Installation Service for Your Range of Porcelain Slabs?

We do not offer an installation service. However, if you require a landscaper or garden designer, our Landscape Specialist Scheme will help you find contractors in your area.

Before committing to a landscaper, you should ensure that the person you choose is right for your design project. It is worth asking your proposed tradesperson if you can view a portfolio of similar works - we also recommend getting several quotations before making a commitment.