Oklahoma for Texans

As an Austin native, I hesitate to extoll the virtues of anything from north of the Red River, but after last week’s game, we can afford to be magnanimous.

After all these years hauling, whacking, cutting, and lifting stone I’m ready to declare a favorite: As a jack of all trades, you can’t beat Oklahoma sandstone.

While more expensive than the native limestone, Oklahoma is the least expensive “pretty” flag stone. Once it’s been cleaned and sealed, the blacks, blues, oranges, grays and golds really pop, and the great variety of colors inherent in the sandstone means it matches nicely with the color scheme of almost any yard. A good Oklahoma patio looks as much at home under a stand of Live Oaks, as it does behind a townhouse. Like any reliable material, its versatility is its strength. I like to dye my mortar black, which really ties the whole surface together and gives a great contrast to the oranges, grays and blues.

Oklahoma Flag cut with tight joints

Backyard Oklahoma Flagstone Patio

Oklahom Flasgstone Grill Platform

Creekside Oklahoma Flagstone Patio

Unlike denser and more expensive patio stones, Oklahoma takes a cut very nicely, and our skilled masons can craft the slabs to fit like a glove - without the wide, sloppy joints so common in Texas masonry.

It’s quarried in a wide variety of sizes and thicknesses, and while unloading and shifting the largest slabs available can feel like a Cecil B. Demille movie at times (“HEAVE!”), The results with these huge slabs never fails to impress. For those on a budget, the small pieces can offer such a variety of colors and can be fit together so cunningly that the final product gives a natural kaleidoscope effect that looks at home in almost any setting.

Attractive, abundant, reasonably priced, versatile, and easy to work with: for a patio that fits into any budget and any backyard, you can’t beat Oklahoma. Well most of the time…

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