Whether you want to add a timeless character to your home or you just want to reduce harsh climate impact, adding natural stones can add value in both ways.​

Natural stones such as granite, limestone, or sandstone-based landscapes are incredibly common in outdoor landscaping. It can enhance your garden and even add dimension to the steps of driveways, pool corners, and backyards. Natural stones have been used for centuries due to their natural elegance and unmatched endurance.

You can understand its importance by thinking about what can happen if your safe entrance steps turn into a hazardous skating rink beneath your feet.

Worry not! We’re not here to intimidate you; we’re here to help you understand that if your natural stone steps are built with care, a plain outdoor area can turn into a long lasting and stunning landscape.

Why Choose Natural Stones for Outdoor Steps in Canada?

Here are your reasons:

Leverage Extreme Durability 

Canadian provinces and territories like Ontario, Ottawa, Montreal, or Quebec experience extreme temperature swings, surviving harsh freeze thaw cycles. Other cities are also no exceptions, though. The dramatic contrast of temperature blends with humid hot summers and frigid snowy winters. And, your outdoor steps encounter continuous expansion and contraction. But the strong composition of your natural stone outdoor steps increases safety by providing an anti-slip finish.

Enjoy Less Maintenance 

All the natural stones from granite to sandstone to limestone, provided by WorldWide Stone, experience natural aging slowly and are exceptionally durable. To keep its outlook intact like a new one, it requires minimal to no effort. You can retain its original condition by smooth cleaning and sealing once every 2-3 years, reducing spalling and cracking effects.

Increase Aesthetic Appeal

Needless to say, how natural stones combine eye appealing patterns and rich hues to enhance its natural beauty for years. Each stone carries a different aesthetic and characteristic. This variety naturally drives you to compare elegance across options. 

For example, when you explore granite vs travertine vs limestone for pool coping, the difference gets visible. Granite steps in snowy resistance with a sleek and contemporary finish, travertine brings a warm and earthy tone, while limestone delivers a clean look suited for modern spaces. It absolutely sets a benchmark to uplevel your style or preferences.

Squeeze Out A Sound Investment

The product of natural stone landing steps are the popular choices that preserve the beauty of your landscape. While your structure gets protected from easy staining or wear and tear down, the resale value of your property gets increased. You just need to pay close attention to maintain its graceful appearance before it loses its natural charm.

Types of Natural Stone Steps

You can opt for the following natural stone steps, depending on the requirements of designs, shapes and sizes.

Multi Piece Treads & Risers

A horizontal thinner tread that overhangs a vertical natural stone riser to define the edge and visual depth of your outdoor step. You get ample flexible options to mix material and strengthen durability. For example, an approx 2-4mm thick granite tread with a limestone riser can enhance a custom outlook while standing against a cold climate.

Stone Slab Steps 

One of the very common natural stone steps design comfortably fits with large and heavy single slab steps. It’s a typically solid block of 6-7” thick, providing a massive appearance with high resistant finish. For a natural stone slab step, flamed granite, dense bluestone, or naturally feathered limestone can be worth your investment.

Paver or Block Steps

Natural stone edge pavers are interlocking masonry units that are stacked together. While it’s adaptable to build curved designs, it can easily damage and replace mortars. If you want a flexible and cost-effective DIY in your garden, for example, you can go for it.

What are the  Best Stones for Outdoor Steps in Canada?

Granite 

Granite is made from hard igneous rocks, making it a popular outdoor stone step solution. You see a  wide range of charming colors from white flecks of salt and pepper granite to polished silver grey granite. The stone is sturdy, maintaining the lowest water absorption rate and smoothly resisting scratches, stains, and frosty weather. You can vouch for its durability!

Marble 

Visually stunning marble stone outdoor steps blend the core of sophistication and luxury. It’s typically softer than granite due to having high porosity granules. If you honestly compare between porcelain and natural stone like marble, the latter can lead to deep cracks. However, when it’s handled with care, the earthy tone of marble can lock in timeless appeal without major damage.

Limestone 

While some softer limestones are better suited for the Mediterranean, we only offer hard limestone. These are excellent outdoor stair materials available in Canada. Because they offer a consistent, modern classic retreat such as with misty grey luminous tone. While limestone offers you all weather resistance, it doesn’t burn your pocket with the high price tag like premium granite.

Sandstone

Sandstone, particularly the dense variety known as Bluestone, is used for natural stone steps and its winter safe favorite. Its natural cleft surface, the ridges formed when the stone is split, provides inherent traction that is hard to beat.

However, while comparing natural stone and limestone pavers, sandstone generally offers better natural grip. But it’s slightly more porous than high-end limestone, requiring a high-quality breathable sealer to handle Canadian salt and ice-melt.

Additional Tips to Start with & Maintain Natural Stone Outdoor Steps

• Planning of Stone Selection: At first, you need a deep dive into research on a wide range of natural stones that pulls the final outlook. Many Canadian home owners do the wrong thing here, buying low quality stone or going with a cheaper cost that raises upkeep cost later on. Consider size, visual appeals, and quality finish – all at the same time. Avoid compromising on it!

• Excavation & Base Preparation: Prepare the area where you want to build natural stone pavers, removing debris and clogging like obstructions. You need the base firm and flat. You can compact it with just soil or blend sand and stones together. Additionally, maintain a slight slope to ensure proper drainage that water can easily run off.

• Riser & Tread Installation: Start from the bottom step and work your way up while building a proper riser and treader. You can apply a thick layer of mortar or high strength stone adhesive to ensure the steps don’t replace easily. Also, neatly fix the dimensions and spacing between steps to enhance the elegance of your outdoor landscape.

• Ongoing Maintenance: Humidity, UV rays, moisture, or strains can easily fade away the natural beauty of your outdoor steps. That’s why, avoid using harsh cleansers. Instead, you can add breathable sealing and a soft cleansing method, improving lifespan and holding flawless finishes together.

Final Thought! 

If your budget allows, granite with a flamed finish is the absolute best stone for outdoor steps in Canada. It is the most preferable solution to handling salt, ice, and heavy boots without flinching. However, if you prefer a warmer, more rustic look, sandstone can offer you non-slip stone. With sandstone, you get performance at a slightly more accessible price point.

Whichever you choose, try to prioritize the finish over the color. We can help you provide quality natural stones and installation and maintenance support throughout. You just need to book your free consultation call with WorldWide Stone. Remember, a beautiful stone is only an asset if you can walk on it safely!