by Ian Metcalfe | Feb 22, 2019 | Landscaping, Paving
Our pre-sealing service was set up in November 2017 and has been going from strength to strength ever since. Our customers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits that having your natural stone pre-sealed with high quality Dry-Treat™ sealant can have in protecting their investment and saving money in the long run. The rapid rise of porcelain paving has threatened the marketplace for higher end natural stone. However, at Kebur we still love natural stone and have extended our range this season. Porcelain isn’t to everyone’s taste and is perhaps not suited to all settings. But by pre-sealing your natural stone, customers can have a product with outstanding natural beauty and character along with reduced maintenance. Antony Vincent is the head technician at our dedicated pre-seal facility and describes the pre-sealing process. “In short, the crates of stone are unwrapped. The slabs are checked for damage and marks, cleaned up if necessary and left in racks to dry”. He continues, “Once dried, the slabs are moved and prepped on the sealing table. A mist coat, followed by two or three heavier coats are then applied at certain periods depending on the type of stone. The slabs are moved back into the drying racks to cure for 24 hours before being packed ready for dispatch”. Antony goes on to describe the main challenges in his role being, managing the working space he has and the length of time it can take some of the slabs to dry before he can seal them, a problem exacerbated by cold and damp weather. The advantages from having your stone pre-sealed by Kebur start at...
by Ian Metcalfe | Jul 27, 2018 | Landscaping, Paving
When it comes to durability and aesthetics, there’s no match for natural stone; every piece is unique, with a huge range of stunning colours and textures determined by millennia of geological processes. And it’s so strong it will outlast us all, making it a sound investment. There are many different types of natural stones commonly used for paving projects such as; sandstone, limestone, granite, basalt and slate from countries such as India, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and Portugal to name just a few. So if you’re choosing natural stone for your garden, how do you decide on the right product? You’ll need to think about its position, appearance, colour and the finish. The processes and finishing applied to a stone can mean that a completely different look and effect can be achieved using exactly the same type of stone. Some finishes are better suited to certain types of stone. How the finish can change the look In the example below, Fossil Mint Indian Sandstone which is an extremely popular option for paving is finished in several different ways. The most common and cost effective is the natural finish, the tumbled antique finish gives a softer, time-worn look whilst the honed and sandblasted finishes create a more modern look and a completely flat surface, with the sandblasting providing greater grip. When stone such as this is honed or sandblasted many of the markings (which some may view as blemishes) in natural stone tend to disappear and a more even colour tone is achieved. 2. This next example illustrates how different Asian Blue (Vietnamese) Limestone can look depending on the finish...
by Ian Metcalfe | Nov 9, 2017 | Landscaping, Paving
Cliff and Ian recently visited Kebur’s porcelain suppliers in Italy and Spain to check out the manufacturing process, the product ranges and to strengthen our partnerships. In Italy most of the many producers are based in or near the Sassuolo area, just south of Modena in the province of Emilia-Romagna. In Spain it’s very similar with a high concentration of factories in the Castellon area just north of Valencia. Whilst there are many tile producers, a relatively small proportion currently produce the 20mm thick tiles suitable for exterior paving. In all the factories we visited, the manufacturing process is very similar. Technicians scan real wood, stone or concrete pieces that they want to recreate as porcelain tiles. The scanned images are then manipulated or “photoshopped” to produce a series of designs for the tiles. The carefully selected raw materials of clay, sand and other minerals are mixed and stored in silos. Different colours are produced to form the appropriate coloured bodies for each specific type of tile. The silos then feed large presses that press the tiles in molds at around 600kg per cm². At this stage the formed tile is solid but can be snapped like a biscuit. The tiles are then dried to remove the moisture, before moving on to a conveyor system where a glaze is applied and then digitally printed, with the ink penetrating through into the top layers of the paving. This relatively new digital printing technology has hugely improved the quality of the final appearance of the tiles in recent years. Robots transport the tiles in giant racks from one stage to the next....
by Ian Metcalfe | Mar 22, 2017 | Landscaping
Porcelain paving advice Since the launch of our Contempo Porcelain earlier this year, we have had a lot of interest from customers and many of the landscapers have been cracking on with some impressive installations. We are always happy to talk to you about preferred laying methods and the advantages of porcelain as a paving material. Just call or ask in our office for details and view our full range of porcelain paving on display. Reward on Cement Purchases At Kebur we supply the Hope Professional Grade Cement. A strong, durable cement in plastic bags with consistent colour, great workability, frost protection and reduced bleed. Hope Cement have a Reward Loyalty scheme which means you collect points on bags of cement you buy. Build your points to collect rewards in the shape of vouchers from John Lewis, River Island, Red Letter Days, iTunes, M&S and many many more. Simply download the very user friendly app from the App Store or Google Play and start building your points. Simple to use, all you have to do is select Kebur Garden Materials as the stockist, Professional Grade Cement as the product and upload a picture of your receipt. And as an added bonus in April, Hope Cement will be giving away a Ford Transit Custom Van to one lucky Hope Cement App user. For any further questions please call us on 01252 517571 or email us on...
by Ian Metcalfe | Nov 24, 2016 | Landscaping, Paving
Cliff and Ian embarked on a business trip to India to meet up with their suppliers to witness production practices, look at new products and schedule natural stone landscaping products for 2017. DAY 1 Our flight finally arrived in Jaipur in the early hours of the morning after an early start from Heathrow. After going through more security checks we headed for the airport money exchange to change some of our Sterling. Last week the Indian government had, without warning, decided to discontinue the 500 and 1000 Rupee notes from circulation causing mayhem and money shortages throughout India, so with this in mind we headed for the airport money exchange. We were quickly told that there was no cash available and told to try an ATM. The problem here was that there is a limit of 2000 Rupees (which is about £25) per card. We were however lucky and managed to obtain our limit in cash. Little did we know that getting more cash would be a problem due to them all being empty. We finally arrived at the hotel at 4am. We arranged for Roopesh to pick us up at 11:30. Roopesh is one of our stone suppliers in India that we have been dealing with since 2012. Roopesh and his brother in law Guresh picked us up, and took us back to Guresh’s office to view some stone samples including paving and a mixed selection of cobbles. We were then taken to an industrial area in Jaipur to visit a cobble manufacturing yard. After this we had a late lunch and were then dropped off in Jaipur’s Pink or walled city which...
by Ian Metcalfe | Dec 3, 2014 | Landscaping
Kebur Garden Materials recently assisted New Scotland Hill Primary school in a new sensory garden project. Regular trade customer to Kebur, Mark from MD Landscaping was also involved as Yvonne Bird, PTA School Liaison Officer explains: “New Scotland Hill Primary School and Nursery have been busy creating a new sensory garden to be enjoyed by all the children. In the Summer Term, the Eco-Coordinator, Natasha Feeney, and the Eco-Committee held a whole school competition to design a sensory garden. The winner, Jake (Year 4), had his design created along with some of the other ideas from the entries. All the children who entered the competition and the Eco-Committee helped to plant an exciting range of plants and herbs with different smells and textures. Every child in the school was also involved by decorating boards with handprints in the four house colours of red, yellow, blue and green. Tyres and benches were also painted in the house colours and chimes added to the trees. We have a wonderful music wall made from recycled pots and pans and two resident scarecrows. The whole project could not have been possible without the help and support from a number of parents, the volunteers from the Community Partners scheme at Waitrose in Sandhurst, materials donated from Kebur Garden Materials and Heathlands Garden Centre, support and material from East Berkshire Fencing and the money donated from the Crowthorne Trust. We’re all now very much enjoying our new space and look forward to developing the garden further in the future. We have also enhanced the front of our school with a new planter made with timber...
by Ian Metcalfe | Nov 17, 2014 | Landscaping
Sleepers can be used in a wide variety of building and landscaping projects such as steps, planters, edging, terracing, fencing/screens and benches. A number of different types are available and at Kebur Garden Materials we supply three main types as outlined below: Reclaimed Sleepers; These are the sleepers that have been on the railway. They provide an attractive rustic look but caution must be taken when handling these as they can be very heavy. Avoid skin contact and don’t use in public or play areas. New Softwood Sleepers; Lighter in weight and easy to use, these sleepers are pressure treated for long lasting protection. New Oak Sleepers; A relatively new choice in garden landscaping sleepers, these European Oak Sleepers are surprisingly good value. They provide a neat modern look and have become the most popular choice in our range. When using sleepers for steps and terracing, concrete the sleepers in on a 100mm deep bed. Haunch at the back end of the sleeper and if possible, the front end too. If using sleepers for a low border or planter it may well be sufficient to fix a wooden post or spike behind the sleepers and fix this into the ground. There are various ways of connecting sleepers together if building planters or walls. Steel road pins are a good way of securing a higher stack of sleepers. Long landscaping screws that are counter-sunk into the sleeper is perhaps the most popular method, whilst metal plates and corner braces on the inside of the build also prove useful and help keep the build nice and square. Sleepers can be incredibly versatile and using them vertically can...
by Ian Metcalfe | May 30, 2013 | Landscaping
Thakeham Tiles is a concrete manufacturer based in Storrington, West Sussex. For over 75 years this family run business has been producing an evolving range of garden products using locally sourced materials and supplying throughout the South East. The company started in 1933, producing concrete roof tiles but seeing little future in this they started manufacturing paving slabs and walling blocks instead. Since Kebur Garden Materials stopped manufacturing their own paving in the early 2000’s, Thakeham have been a key supplier for them. Thakeham prove to be a reliable supplier and the two companies seek to continue their prosperous working relationship. The key lines that Thakeham supply to Kebur are two lines of wet cast paving; Regency Ripple and Flagstone Riven Edge. With both of these ranges there are various sizes and circle features available. In addition to this Thakeham supply Kebur with the elegant Sovereign paving with its antique colours and hand tooled textures that capture the smooth timeworn look of chancery settings. Furthermore the textured Sussex Paving and indeed the complete Thakeham range can be ordered from Kebur. Thakeham are also a big supplier of structural concrete blocks and the growth in this sector has risen to such an extent that it now caters for around half of their business. A wander around the site at Thakeham and you quickly discover that some of the techniques and machinery is quite archaic, but quite simply these tried and tested techniques continue to prove to be the most effective way of producing certain elements of their range. For example the semi drymix rock faced walling, screen walling blocks, pier caps...
