Buff Rippon Smooth Sandstone · Sawn & Honed
Warm waves, smoothed flat.
Reddish-yellow waves across a very smooth honed surface — warm buff tones of orange, green, pink and grey, sawn on all six sides for a contemporary finish.
Buff Rippon Smooth Sandstone · Sawn & Honed
Reddish-yellow waves across a very smooth honed surface — warm buff tones of orange, green, pink and grey, sawn on all six sides for a contemporary finish.
Buff Rippon Smooth Honed sandstone paving has distinctive waves running across a reddish-yellow surface — and honing makes that banding read far more clearly than it ever does on riven.
About the Stone
Buff Rippon Smooth — also sold as Buff Rippon Sawn Honed — is the contemporary counterpart to our riven Rippon Buff. It carries the same natural orange, green and pinkish shades with yellowish waves, but the sawn and honed process presents them entirely differently: where riven gives you texture and shadow, honing gives you clarity. The waves and colour banding that make this stone distinctive read far more vividly across a smooth surface.
The blend is genuinely warm — a sandy-brown base with crimson and lavender undertones creating an interplay of colour that varies from slab to slab. Every piece is unique, distinguished by the infinite tonal variation that makes Rippon Buff so desirable in the first place. It is one of the most popular Indian sandstones in Britain for exactly that reason: it brightens a garden in a way cool greys cannot.
The stone is sawn straight off the block rather than split, cut down to size, and the top surface honed to a smooth finish with a slight sheen. All six sides are sawn, so the four edges are straight and machine-cut to complete the contemporary look. Sawn paving carries a natural level of slip resistance and, as long as it is maintained, retains its grip underfoot.
Standard mixed packs cover approximately 18.5 m². The most common single size is 600×600mm; 900×600, 600×300 and 450×450mm also available, plus walling, coping, steps and circle kits (2.8m, 3.6m, 4.5m).
Sawn paving behaves differently to riven. A few honest notes that will save you trouble later.
Seal before you lay it. This is the single most important thing with any sawn stone. Sawing opens up the stone’s pores far more than natural splitting does, so Buff Rippon Smooth will take a stain quickly if it goes down bare. Seal all six sides — top, bottom and edges — with a quality impregnating natural stone sealer before installation, not after.
Use an SBR bond underneath. Paint neat SBR onto the underside and let it dry fully before laying. It creates a barrier between the sand-cement mix and the slab, which is what prevents the patchy dark staining that shows up weeks later and cannot be undone.
Sawn edges are sharper — handle with care. Unlike hand-dressed riven edges, machine-sawn edges are crisp and square. That is what gives sawn paving its clean contemporary line, but it also means the arrises can chip if slabs are dragged or knocked. Lift, don’t slide.
Order 10% extra. Standard for any natural stone — it covers cuts, breakage and any undercounted measurement.
A warm, bright patio — the antidote to grey in a British garden.
Matching walling in 100×100, 200×100 and 300×100mm.
Coping stones at 600×300 and 450×450mm; steps to 1500×300mm.
Focal-point circles in 2.8m, 3.6m and 4.5m diameters.
Care & Maintenance
Sweep with a soft broom and wash occasionally with a mild, pH-neutral detergent. Never use acidic cleaners on Buff Rippon Smooth — or any natural stone — as they cause permanent, irreparable damage to both the colour and the structure of the surface.
Because it is sawn, keep on top of spills rather than letting them sit; a honed surface shows water marking more readily than a riven one. Reseal every two to four years depending on exposure. Done properly, a good sealer does more than protect — it deepens the natural colour and keeps it reading rich for years.
Same stone, different process. Riven is split along natural layers for a lightly textured surface with hand-dressed edges — the traditional patio look. Smooth is sawn on all six sides and honed flat, with straight machine-cut edges. The honed version shows the yellowish waves and colour banding far more clearly.
Sawn sandstone has a natural level of slip resistance and is not known to be slippery when wet, provided the paving is maintained. Riven grips better, so for pool surrounds or slopes we would recommend the riven version.
Yes, and before laying. Sawn paving is far more porous at the cut face and stains easily if laid bare. Seal all six sides with an impregnating stone sealer, and use an SBR bond on the underside to prevent sand-cement staining from below.
600×600mm is the most common paving size, with 900×600, 600×300 and 450×450mm also available. Beyond paving we supply matching walling (100×100, 200×100, 300×100mm), coping stones (600×300, 450×450mm), steps (900×300 up to 1500×300mm) and circle kits in 2.8m, 3.6m and 4.5m.
Warm buff — a blend of orange, green, pink and grey, with yellowish waves across the surface and crimson and lavender undertones. Colours deepen noticeably when wet. Every slab is unique; mix from all crates as you lay to distribute the tones evenly.
Both, but it leans contemporary in this finish. The straight sawn edges and smooth face suit modern schemes, while the warm natural colour keeps it from feeling cold or clinical. For a traditional cottage look, the riven version is the better fit.
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These are the alternatives UK buyers most often weigh against Buff Rippon Smooth — including its own riven version.
Speak to our team for pricing, samples, MOQ details and shipping options to your country. Direct from India since 1996.
