Gneis Paving

Gneiss is one of the oldest stones in the world, it is an attractive stone with a strength comparable to Granite although it is much harder than Granite, it has almost zero water absorption meaning it is difficult to stain and easy to clean, it withstands huge temperature variations and has good natural resistance to algae so has good resistance to the greening of patios that occurs in our climate. If it does green its easy to clean with detergent or a pressure washer. So its an ideal, strong low maintenance path, drive or patio material. It derives its name from an old German work for spark, the quartz in it gives it a subtle glitter. It is a tough, hard, coarse-grained rock composed of the same minerals as granite (quartz, feldspar and mica) but with alternating bands of light and dark minerals. In Gneiss the minerals are arranged into layers that appear as bands in cross section. The darker bands have minerals such as magnesium or iron and lighter bands contain silicate minerals (aluminium, sodium, potassium, etc).