Si La Laeng - Thai Stone

[chrgrims]

Hi,

I am soon to make a decision about what to use around our new pool. we are considering si la laeng, a stone used quite a lot here in thailand (as far as i know). The plan is to compact earth, put a layer of sand, and then si la laeng.

If anyone has experience with this stone, i would love to hear your opinion.

here is a picture of this kind of stone:

http://www.baansuandecor.com/images/7octob...or/DSC04857.JPG

cheers, chr

[Rimmer]

They are quite durable, we have used hem as planter box edges so they get a lot of water, still OK after many years, lots of people put them on their grass as stepping stones and they work well there as well. They are quite hard and can be difficult to cut with an angle cutter, maybe because of that can break if dropped or banged.

They look nice if grouted using red zinc oxide mixed in with the cement, put some anti fungicide add mixture with the grout or else the grout will go green then black.

[chrgrims]

ok, sounds great. Thanks for the grout advice too, very helpful.

[quiksilva]

Aha yes these are the 'laterite' bricks I mentioned in my other post.

How much are they and where can you buy them from?

[chrgrims]

We made some research and found a factory in Prachinburi. We are buying a lot, so we will buy directly from this factory. 1 square meter use 12,5 stones. Price per stone is around 15-16 baht. Transportation is not included. Maybe its possible to negotiate, if you buy a lot.

EDIT: Our plan is to not use grout, but put the stones on a layer of sand. Do you think this will cause problems with weed? if so, how can this problem be reduced? I dont want to use nasty pesticides. I have looked into other choices, vinegar is supposed to kill weed decently well. I also read that plastic can be used to stop light (and weed). Is it an option to put a layer of plastic over the sand (under the stone)?

Edited October 24, 2009 by chrgrims