Image Credit: Solveig Osk

Autumn is a busy time for the avid gardener. As the seasons change, so must the back garden, and if you’ve got a green thumb or two, we hardly need to tell you that you’ve got lots of pruning and tidying to do if you want your outdoor space to look its best this winter. Frankly, we’re amazed you’ve even found time to read this blog – you must have a lot on your to-do list right now!

Of course, that only applies to the green portion of your garden. Bloggers and columnists across the UK are currently telling their readers to prepare their garden for winter, but if your back garden is paved with our frost-resistant paving, you’ve very little preparation to do. No matter how cold it gets over the next few months, a porcelain-paved patio from PrimaPorcelain will barely even feel it. Unlike natural stone, which is highly susceptible to frost damage, our porcelain products are proven to cope with sub-zero temperatures.

Even if we don’t get a dusting of snow this year, it’s a fairly safe bet that things will get pretty cold here in the UK. We can’t help you with your plants, but if you want the rest of your garden to be maintenance-free this winter, we’d highly recommend our porcelain paving.

We love to brag about our exquisite Italian porcelain. We’re not sure why its country of origin should make such a difference – perhaps it just sounds more extravagant. ‘Italian porcelain tiles’ sound like they’re found exclusively in the gardens of sun-kissed Mediterranean villas, where orange trees line the horizon and the paving slabs warm the soles of your bare feet when you walk around without socks on.

The irony is that, actually, our Italian porcelain products are perfectly suited to the British climate. The UK is hardly know for its sun-kissed holiday homes and orange groves; perform a Google Image search for ‘british weather’ and the top three results will invariably be photographs of torrential rain and/or flooding. If you want good results from your outdoor living space, you’ll have to either move to a hotter country or put a bit of thought into the products you use. British weather won’t be kind to inferior outdoor goods!

It seems a little strange that Italians, with their climate, should be behind a paving product that’s so good in bad weather, but we’re not complaining! Here’s a quick look at why porcelain paving is such a shrewd choice of outdoor flooring:

- It's not very absorbent. Natural stone has a very high porosity; this allows water to soak into the slabs, causing stains and moisture damage. Porcelain is far less porous, so there won’t be any stains – the slabs will stay fabulous for years!

- It's slip-resistant. Whether by water or by ice, British weather can result in some seriously slippery surfaces. Anyone who claims to be selling a non-slip surface is fibbing, but porcelain paving is much more slip-resistant than stone, at the very least. That’s part of why it’s so great for swimming pool surrounds.

- It's frostproof. Our Italian porcelain can cope with temperatures below zero degrees, so even the coldest environments won’t ruin your sumptuous slabs. Good news for Brits, and especially good news for Scots.

Autumn is just around the corner, and if you want a garden that can stand up to everything our weather will throw at it, porcelain paving is the perfect choice. Oh, and since we do occasionally get a bit of sunshine here in Blighty, it’s worth mentioning that our porcelain is also UV-resistant, so it won’t fade in the sunlight!

Throughout your lifetime – however long or short that may be – you probably have a few stand-out purchases that you adore. We hope that porcelain flooring can be one of those purchases you are so glad you made, and that you cherish dearly. Porcelain flooring is certainly worthy of being one of your best investments, and with the quality of our floor tiles you’ll be able to enjoy that investment for an age!

The idea of having porcelain flooring may seem like a new concept to you but we are no amateurs to the field. Refin have almost 50 years of experience with porcelain - they have perfected their techniques to be able to make thicker paving slabs suitable for outdoor use. This means you can now enjoy all the benefits of porcelain flooring in your outdoor living space.

What exactly does this mean for the customer? Well it now means the most superior flooring material around is readily available for you to start enjoying. We are quite confident in stating that it is the best because the facts speak for themselves: it looks as striking and as beautiful as any material out there, but no other material has such a low absorption rate. This means that no water or stains can penetrate through the tiles and hinder the look of your flooring.

Porcelain flooring is also very strong, scratch-resistant, and even slip-resistant. In fact, with all its qualities combined with the aesthetics of these tiles, you will need a seriously good reason not to start adoring porcelain flooring.

The roof can be a wonderful place to relax, especially at this time of year, when the weather is a little nicer than usual. Whether you live in a block of flats or your own full-size house, a roof terrace or balcony can be a source of some much-needed tranquillity, offering an ideal retreat from the hustle and bustle that may blight the rest of your home.

And don’t worry if your balcony/roof terrace doesn’t look all that appealing at the moment, because our porcelain roof paving will soon see to that problem! OUT 2.0 paving looks just as good in these environments as it does on the ground, and the easy installation process ensures that revitalising your terrace will only take a short while. Our 2cm paving slabs can be dry installed without any adhesives whatsoever, which makes for a quick, simple and clean process!

Roof terraces are superb chill-out spots that get you a little closer to the sky, so if you need a good place to relax and forget about your troubles for a short while, some high-quality roof or balcony paving from PrimaPorcelain will get you sorted in no time. Check out our Roof & Balcony page for more information, or email info@porcelainpaving.co.uk to get started!

You don't have to be an estate agent to know that a nice garden will boost the value of the home it's attached to. The positive effect on property value is one of the most common arguments for redesigning the back yard, and while it's kind of a shame to put all that effort into a space that you don't intend to use, the opportunity to get a higher price for your home is not to be sneezed at, especially in the current economic climate.

But there are hundreds of different ways to beautify a garden, and if you're serious about designing your way to a higher price tag, then you'll have to think up a good strategy first. Back in 2013, thisismoney.co.uk ran an article about the relationship between nice gardens and property value. They came to the conclusion that a big, extravagant garden design can actually discourage potential buyers, especially if they aren't keen gardeners themselves. A meticulously-manicured outdoor space is impressive, certainly, but these things require a lot of looking after; if the new owners aren't prepared to put in the hours, that once-wonderful garden will fall to rack and ruin before long.

So while a big, showy garden might well bump up the estimated value, you're more likely to actually sell your home if your garden is reasonably low-maintenance. And that's where we come in - low-maintenance is our middle name! Our gorgeous garden paving products require almost no care whatsoever, and they're still attractive enough to justify a nice big asking price.

So don't bother fiddling with flowers and tinkering with herbaceous border; you're more likely to catch a buyer's eye by offering them a garden that's beautiful without being a burden. Our minimal-effort porcelain paving looks absolutely stunning, and the new occupants can use it any way they see fit without worrying about the upkeep.

To find out more about our low-maintenance porcelain paving, call 02920 371584 or email info@porcelainpaving.co.uk.