Syrian Stone Flooring and Paving: A Buyer's Guide

Syrian Stone Flooring and Paving: A Buyer's Guide

Buyers who look for Syrian stone flooring or paving usually have two jobs in one project: floors inside, and terraces, paths or a courtyard outside. The same stone can often do both, in different finishes. This guide sets out which of the stones we quarry and process in Syria suit each job, how the finish and the format change the result, and what to specify so that offers can be compared on the same basis.

Floors and paving: two different jobs

A flagstone is a flat stone, sometimes cut in a regular rectangular or square shape, and usually used for paving slabs, walkways, patios and flooring.¹ Inside, a stone floor is walked on and cleaned every day, and its finish decides how it looks and how it feels underfoot. Outside, paving lives with rain, sun and dust, and grip matters more than gloss. Limestone is cut into floor tiles and stair treads,² and basalt into floor tiles and building veneer; basalt paving stones are laid in historic city streets to this day.³

Interior floors

• Limestones: all five of our limestones and both shell stones are listed for flooring, from the even white of Extra White Limestone to the warm cream of Crema Limestone. Honed gives a calm matte floor; polished gives a reflective gloss that deepens the colour, and is more slippery when wet than a matte surface; antique gives a softly worn, aged look.
• Travertine: Silver Travertine is listed for flooring. For floors that are walked on and cleaned often, filled is usually the more practical choice.
• Fossil limestone: Bianco Shell Stone and Damascus Shell Stone bring shell formations to a floor; our fossil limestone guide explains how to read them.

Our Syrian limestone guide compares the limestones in detail, and our Syrian travertine guide covers filled and unfilled travertine.

Outdoor paving, terraces and courtyards

• Basalt: Volcanic Black Basalt is listed for paving and outdoor flooring. Flamed, its surface is roughened with intense heat into a textured, grippy finish often chosen for outdoor paving and steps. Our Hauran basalt guide tells the story of Syria's black stone.
• Limestones and travertine: our limestones and Silver Travertine are listed for landscaping and steps as well as flooring. Outside, choose a textured finish such as raw or antique rather than polished.
• Light and dark together: pale limestone or travertine fields with basalt borders, bands or steps are a classic courtyard combination, and both can be supplied in one order.

Whether a stone suits an exterior depends on the exact use, the climate and the laying method, so tell us where the stone will go, and see the finish on a sample before production. For pool decks, see our guide to pool coping and pool surrounds.

Steps and stair treads

All nine of our stones are listed for steps, so a floor and its stairs can share one stone. Treads and risers are cut to size: give the tread depth, the riser height, the width of each flight, the thickness and the edge you want at the front of the tread, together with the landings.

Format, thickness and laying

Floors and paving are supplied as slabs or as cut-to-size tiles and pavers, in the sizes and pattern on your drawing. The laying method, for example adhesive on a screed inside or a mortar bed outside, and the traffic the floor will carry set the thickness. Your architect or contractor decides it, and we cut to it. Thickness also changes the order: a thicker stone means fewer square metres in a container.

What to specify

1. The stone and its rock type, for example Volcanic Black Basalt, basalt.
2. The colour range you accept, seen on range samples rather than a single tile.
3. The finish, inside and outside if they differ.
4. The format: tile or paver sizes, pattern, thickness and tolerances, plus treads, risers and borders.
5. The use: interior or exterior, private or public, and the climate.
6. The quantity, with an allowance for cutting and spares, and the destination port.

Dimension stone is judged on colour, grain texture and pattern, surface finish, and durability and strength for the intended use,⁴ so agree a reference sample or photographs of the production, and the acceptable range of natural variation, before production starts. Our specification checklist covers the full list.

How to order

• Orders start at one 20 ft container, usually about 300 to 350 m² of stone depending on the thickness and format; a 20 ft container carries about 16 to 25 tonnes. A house with floors, terraces and steps in one stone often fits a single container. Ordering by the container explains the arithmetic.
• Production typically takes about 14 days, sometimes up to around 20, before the goods are ready to ship.
• We quote FOB Latakia, CIF to your port or EXW, depending on the order and route. On FOB Latakia, our delivery is complete when the goods are on board the vessel at the port of Latakia, and sea freight and insurance from there are arranged by the buyer.
• Before loading, we send photos and video of the actual stone in your order, and you are welcome to inspect it in person. Every crate is numbered and documented, and the shipment travels with a packing list and a certificate of origin.

The factors behind a quote are set out in What Drives the Price of Syrian Limestone; cut-to-size work and special pieces add to them.

Questions buyers ask

Which Syrian stone suits outdoor paving?

Volcanic Black Basalt is listed for paving and outdoor flooring, and its flamed finish is textured and grippy. Our limestones and Silver Travertine are listed for landscaping and steps; outside, give them a textured finish such as raw or antique.

Can I use polished limestone on a floor?

Yes, inside. Polished limestone gives a reflective gloss that deepens the colour, and it is more slippery when wet than a matte surface, so many buyers choose honed for kitchens, bathrooms and entrances.

Can I see the stone before it is shipped?

Yes. We send photos and video of the actual stone in your order before loading, and you can inspect it in person.

Short answers on quotes, inspection before loading, delivery, payment and export documents are in our buyer questions.