Aster Sandstone supplies natural sandstone blocks, slabs, and dressed stone directly from quarry to project site, with consistent grading and transparent pricing on every order.
Callum Ratcliffe started Aster Sandstone in 2014 after spending over a decade in quarry logistics, watching the same problem repeat itself on project after project. A contractor would specify a particular buff sandstone, receive a quote, and then find that the stone delivered bore only a passing resemblance to the sample. Colour variation, inconsistent bed thickness, and blocks with hidden fractures were common. The industry had normalised it. Callum had not.
The first two years were spent building direct relationships with a small number of quarries rather than buying through the spot market. That meant visiting sites, understanding how each quarry's geology changes across the face, and agreeing on grading criteria in writing before any money changed hands. By 2016, Aster had a yard, a small saw, and a reputation among a handful of conservation architects and heritage contractors for delivering stone that matched the specification.
Sawn on all faces, consistent warm buff colour with occasional iron-oxide veining. Available in 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm thicknesses. Suitable for external paving, cladding panels, and interior flooring where a natural finish is specified.
From £85 per m2A slightly warmer, more golden tone than our buff range, sourced from a different quarry face. The colour is consistent within a batch but will vary between batches; we recommend ordering full project quantities at once. Available in 30 mm and 50 mm thicknesses.
From £92 per m2Cooler in tone, with a fine grain and low water absorption relative to the buff and honey ranges. Often specified for contemporary residential and commercial projects where a more neutral palette is required. Available in 20 mm and 40 mm.
From £88 per m2Sawn beds, dressed face. Supplied to coursing heights between 75 mm and 225 mm as specified. Used in new-build walling, conservation repair, and heritage restoration. Compressive strength data available on request.
From £320 per tonneUnsorted rubble and selected random pieces for dry-stone and mortared walling. Supplied loose by the tonne or palletised. Sizes are mixed; we can provide a sieve analysis if required for structural applications.
From £95 per tonneenquiries@aster-sandstone.com
Aster Sandstone, Daimoncho 2-7-15, Shrewsbury, SY1 3PG
Reclaimed sandstone flags have become increasingly sought after for garden and courtyard projects where a new stone would look out of place. The demand is understandable: a well-worn flag has a surface texture and patina that takes decades to develop naturally. But the quality of reclaimed material varies considerably, and the sourcing and grading process has a significant effect on what you actually receive.
Read more →Copings are one of the most exposed elements of any masonry wall, and sandstone copings in particular are vulnerable to failure if the installation details are not right. Most of the problems we see, including cracking, delamination, and mortar joint failure, are caused by issues in the substrate or the bedding rather than defects in the stone itself.
Read more →Water absorption is one of the most practically important properties of any natural stone used externally, and one of the least understood by specifiers who are new to working with sandstone. The figure tells you how much water the stone will take on under standard test conditions, and it has direct implications for frost resistance, staining behaviour, and long-term durability.
Read more →Every batch is graded against a fixed colour and density specification before dispatch. If a block does not meet the grade, it does not leave the yard.
We source from a small number of quarries with whom we have worked since 2014. No brokers, no spot-market substitutions mid-project.
Slabs and flags can be cut to your drawings in-house. Tolerances are held to plus or minus 2 mm on face dimensions.
"Callum Ratcliffe spent eleven years working in quarry logistics and dimensional stone processing before founding Aster Sandstone in 2014. He previously managed supply chains for a regional masonry contractor, overseeing the sourcing of sandstone, limestone, and granite for commercial and residential projects across the country. A persistent frustration with opaque pricing and inconsistent block grading led him to set up a direct-supply operation where every slab is inspected before it leaves the yard. Outside the yard, he keeps a small vegetable plot and reads more geology textbooks than he would care to admit."
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