Search

Stone carpet costs – prices per m²

Determining the cost of stone carpeting is a more complex issue than many people think. There are significant differences in cost between the open system popular in living spaces and an external coating with waterproofing. Find out all about the factors that influence the final stone carpet price or request a non-binding stone carpet cost estimate directly.

What are the costs of buying stone carpeting? Stone carpet prices - What do they depend on?

Before you buy a stone carpet, you will certainly be interested to know what costs you can expect. Here’s what you need to bear in mind: the price of a stone carpet depends on many different factors. These include

  • the quality of the gravel
  • the primer used
  • the required binding agent
  • the grain size of the gravel
  • the publisher’s labor costs
  • the size and type of installation area (floors, stairs, walls, … )
  • the area of application (indoor or outdoor)
  • Desired additional services such as pore closure or sealing

For this reason, the stone carpet price for your building project can only be clarified in an individual discussion. A stone carpet installer can help you with this.

After providing important key data about your project – ideally the surface, substrate and area of application – an initial cost estimate can be provided.

You will find the option to request your individual cost estimate at at the end of the interesting article.

During a subsequent professional consultation, the installer will clarify the exact requirements regarding substrate preparation, floor structure and surface sealing with you. He will also help you select the right material, introduce you to the wide range of gravel colors and, if required, prepare a quote tailored to your needs.

Are you still looking for a specialist company to lay a stone carpet for you? Then contact Quarzkiesboden Zimmermann. Our Qubo® bases and many other installation companies offer you excellent service throughout Germany.

Therefore, the stone carpet costs depend on the construction project Stone carpet prices vary depending on the area of application

In order to understand the factors influencing stone carpet costs mentioned above, it is important to know how the structure of gravel floors differs depending on the intended use. For example, very different materials are used for laying floors and walls in indoor and outdoor areas.

  • Indoors and outdoors: While the temperatures indoors are always very similar, the floor outdoors is exposed to both frost and bright sunshine. Here, it is necessary to use bonding agents that retain their stability even in the event of strong temperature fluctuations. The use of stainless steel profiles is also recommended here in order to maintain beautiful contours and tread edges on outdoor stairs in the long term.
  • Balconies: Laying balconies involves a comparatively large number of work steps. In addition to the gravel coating itself, special balcony profiles are often used, which are designed for effective rain drainage. A professionally laid seal must be created underneath to protect the building structure below. Depending on the balcony, creating a slope of at least 1.5% is also part of the installation process. All these steps must be taken into account when calculating the cost of stone carpeting on balconies.
  • Costs for stone carpet walls: As with skirting boards and risers for stairs, a special bonding agent is also required to create vertical surfaces on walls. In addition, the installation of entire walls is extremely time-consuming. For these reasons, the prices for stone carpet walls are significantly higher than the cost of simple floors.
  • Gravel grain size: Although the grain size of marble and quartz gravel does not have a significant impact on material costs, the thickness of the gravel does. While a laying thickness of just 6 mm can be achieved with quartz gravel with a grain size of 2 – 3 mm, coarser gravels can only be laid in thicknesses of 8 or 10 mm. Accordingly, significantly larger quantities of material – gravel and binder in equal measure – are required. This also increases the cost of the stone carpet.
  • Large areas vs. small areas: While larger areas are typically charged by the square meter, many installers charge flat rates for small areas such as guest bathrooms or small landings. These are comparatively high when calculated per square meter, which is why laying such small areas is most likely to be worthwhile if other areas are being laid at the same time.
  • Primer, pore sealing, height compensation, angle profiles… – other factors in the stone carpet costs: In addition to the actual material – i.e. the gravel and the binder – the stone carpet prices are also determined by the other components. If, for example, complex shapes need to be laid with aluminum profiles or special primers need to be used, the costs will differ from those for simply laying large, straight surfaces. For example, it is cheaper to lay a stone carpet directly on solid tiles than to tear them off generously and leave a crater landscape in the
    screed. An open-laid system, as is common in living rooms, is also more cost-effective than a garage floor with pore sealing and sealing due to the smaller number of work steps. The wealth of options makes determining the price of stone carpeting a task that is best accomplished together in a discussion. With a professional consultation, your specialist company will also lay the foundation for you …

… for a strong appearance!

Non-binding Cost estimate

What does a stone carpet cost?

First and foremost, the area of application determines the cost of the stone carpet. However, the prices depend on many different factors, including

  • the type of binder required
  • from the primer

  • the choice of skirting boards, for example, if these are also made of gravel

  • from the labor costs of the professional installer

  • the size of the area to be laid

In outdoor areas, the costs are higher because the substrate needs to be sealed and the marble gravel needs to be laid with a UV-resistant binder.

Which binders are suitable for indoor installation?
For interior applications, we recommend Qubo® Epoxy Resin (Qubo® EP for short). The products in this range are two-component binders for laying gravel floors in interior areas in private and commercial environments.
Qubo® EPs offer the necessary durability to provide floors and treads on stairs with a long-lasting gravel coating. The material is transparent and allows the selected gravel colors to shine in their full glory.
The vertical binder Qubo® PU-WA08 is used for vertical surfaces such as risers and skirting boards.
What different types of stone carpet are there?

When you buy a stone carpet, you usually choose between a coating made of
Colorquarz
or
Marmorkies
. However, there are considerable differences in the quality of materials between low-cost suppliers and manufacturers of high-quality products, for example in the amount of dust or the types of marble used.

Additional mica additives and various precious and semi-precious stones can be added, but this has an impact on the cost of the stone carpet.

What grain sizes can I buy for a stone carpet?

Colored quartz is available in the following grain sizes:

  • 1–2 mm

  • 2–3 mm

  • 3–4 mm

Marble gravel is available in the following grain sizes:

  • 1–4 mm

  • 4–8 mm

  • 8–15 mm

Of course, the choice of gravel grain size has an effect on the thickness of the gravel floor and therefore also on the price of the stone carpet.

What material thickness is used to lay stone carpet?

The laying thickness of the floor depends on the gravel grain size and the area of application. Normal gravel with a grain size of 2 – 3 mm can be laid indoors with a thickness of 6 mm.

An installation thickness of 8 mm is used outdoors and on stairs indoors due to the load.

Finally, 10 mm of material is applied to external stairs.

Vertical surfaces such as risers, skirting boards and walls are always laid in 6 mm.

Does the grit size affect the price of the stone carpet?

The larger the gravel grain size, the higher the installation height of the floor covering. This means that more gravel and additional binder is required per m². The price of stone carpeting increases accordingly.

Why is a primer required for gravel floors?

The primer forms the bonding bridge between the building structure and the gravel floor. The material can be applied to almost any substrate, for example tiles, wood, stone, concrete and metal. Different substrates require different preparation steps.

On tiles and metal, for example, a primer is required to give the smooth surface stability during installation.

On porous stone and absorbent screed, the appropriate primer must be used to prevent the binder from being absorbed, which is intended to ensure that the pebbles remain in place.

To coat wooden planks with a gravel floor, the movement of the planks against each other must first be stopped. To do this, the installer first applies a mesh mat to the wooden floor. Once the filler has dried, the gravel floor is applied.

Why should a stone carpet be provided with a pore sealer?

Especially in kitchens and
bathrooms
, the gravel coating should be provided with a pore seal for hygienic reasons. It prevents leaked, sticky liquids from penetrating the gravel floor. While spilled liquids are difficult to remove from an open floor, the pore seal enables
effortless cleaning
by wet mopping.

Is a stone carpet suitable for pets?


Dogs
, cats and co. feel much more comfortable on the textured surface of a gravel floor than on smooth floor coverings such as tiles or laminate, as they do not slip on the gravel. However, it is advisable to cover the floor with a pore seal to ensure an easily wipeable surface.

Can a gravel floor be laid outdoors?
Definitely, yes! Marble and quartz gravel on your
terrace
is the durable alternative to other floor coverings. The system creates a non-slip floor that is not only visually appealing, but also 100% frost-proof and UV-resistant. This means that our
Qubo® quartz gravel
can be used outdoors without any problems. Their special coating gives the quartz pebbles additional protection from the sun’s rays.
Our
marble gravel
, which is also suitable for outdoor use, comes from Italian quarries and is naturally lightfast.
What are the advantages of a stone carpet in outdoor areas?
  • High drainage capacity due to open-pored structure

  • Quick drying in sun and wind

  • Easy to clean and self-cleaning

  • 100% frostsicher

  • UV-stabil

  • Gentle, massage-like walking comfort when walking barefoot
How is the stone carpet laid outdoors?

The most important thing when laying gravel floors in outdoor areas is preparing the substrate. This ensures the durability of the finished floor.

On the one hand, this is because a primed subfloor provides significantly increased adhesion for the filled gravel. On the other hand, a sealing layer keeps rainwater away from the building structure, for example, which supports long-term durability.

Options for sealing building structures are

  • Sealing using an epoxy resin seal with sealing membrane
  • Sealing using a flex sealing slurry

In order to drain rainwater effectively, the floor covering is laid with a gradient of at least 1.5%.

Which binders are suitable for outdoor installation?
For outdoor areas, you should buy a polyurethane-based binder for your stone carpet. We recommend Qubo® PU08. This binder is a one-component polyurethane (1C PU) for laying on balconies, terraces, pool surrounds and outdoor steps.
Laying with polyurethane as a binder gives the gravel floor the high elasticity required for large temperature differences.
Qubo® PU08 is also absolutely UV-resistant and frost-proof.
Should you also buy a pore seal for your stone carpet in outdoor areas?

No, in outdoor areas, gravel coatings are always laid as an open system to ensure drainage capacity and thus the run-off of rainwater. This makes them 100% frost-proof and therefore ideal as
pool surrounds
and as a covering for balconies, terraces, entrance areas, outdoor steps and loggias.

How do you clean a stone carpet indoors and outdoors?
Indoors, the gravel floor can simply be vacuumed or damp mopped. Heavier soiling can be removed with a wet vacuum cleaner or steam cleaner.
The exterior can be cleaned using a high-pressure cleaner with a brush system. Without a brush system, the dirt is pressed between the pebbles. This reduces the drainage capacity and makes it even more difficult to remove the dirt.
Further information on cleaning can be found in our
blog
.
Can a stone carpet be mended or repaired?
Of course, installation professionals can seamlessly repair imperfections after structural changes such as moving a wall. However, it is important to remember that changes in color due to environmental influences and the natural aging process cannot be ruled out.
Is a gravel coating waterproof?
Outside, the waterproofing of the building structure is the water-bearing layer. The stone carpet itself is water-permeable.
To make a gravel floor indoors waterproof, we use a pore sealer in combination with an epoxy resin sealer. Qubo® EP (glossy) can be used as an epoxy resin sealer.
Another option is a semi-matt or anti-slip polyurethane sealant.

We would like to point out that we do not recommend gravel coatings in the direct shower area. The reasons for this can be found in the basic structure of the floor and the wet room. Just as the tile adhesive underneath a tile does not form a completely flat surface without air pockets, pores also remain underneath a sealed gravel.

If, after years, a silicone seam leaks and water from a fitting, for example, penetrates between the wall or floor covering and the seal of the building structure, the transparent pore seal reacts with the water and forms white stains. As these occur underneath the seal, they cannot be wiped away or removed by drying.

This is why insurance companies do not classify stone carpets as suitable for wet rooms and do not replace such coatings in the event of damage. We therefore recommend that you purchase a microcement coating for showers instead of stone carpet. With these, there is no water-bearing layer between the floor covering and the substrate, so there is no risk of moisture penetration. Due to the many customization options for microcement, it can also be combined with stone carpet. Just get in touch with us.

Can a stone carpet be laid on stairs?
With marble and quartz gravel, old
stairs
can be easily renovated both indoors and outdoors. When you buy a stone carpet for your old staircase, you get a new design without having to invest in a new staircase. The renovation is carried out without any chiselling or demolition work. Staircase renovation significantly reduces or even completely eliminates noise. Of course, a gravel coating is also ideal for new stairs and entrance areas.
Can stairs be renovated with non-slip stone carpet?

Yes. A staircase coated with stone carpet already has a slip resistance class of R10 after installation.

Special sealants can be used to increase the slip resistance class to R11 or R12.

How long does a staircase renovation with stone carpeting take?

Depending on the design of the staircase, the renovation takes 3-5 days. In special cases, installation is also possible within an even shorter time. For a more precise determination of the duration of your construction project ,
simply contact us at
.

FAQ

Details and facts, key figures and explanations – here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about our Qubo® coating systems. If any details remain unclear, simply contact us at . We will be happy to advise you personally and promptly.

Products for entrepreneurs in the online store

Further knowledge

Microcement concrete look floor
Epoxy resin

Concrete look

Concrete look is a style that is characterized by its striking and modern appearance. It gives rooms a cool, contemporary atmosphere and is often used

Seamless shower
Nicht kategorisiert

Seamless shower

Modern bathroom design reaches a new level of elegance and functionality with seamless showers. This contemporary solution not only offers an aesthetic design, but also

Seamless bathroom stone carpet
Nicht kategorisiert

Seamless bathroom

In today’s world, where the pursuit of minimalism and clean design is ever more present, the bathroom is at the center of a stylish transformation: