In all instances we'll be using a natural stone to cover these three areas of our home or grounds (man-made veneer stone is not made to be walked on). Critical to the type of stone chosen is the amount of clefting (how much relief or texture) on the stone's face. Obviously a relatively flat or low clefted stone is preferred. We offer many such stone varieties but in 90+ percent of cases we install a Pennsylvania Bluestone on our walk-way, patio and porch projects. NOTE: PA Bluestone is not necessarily blue in color, although there is a blue variation. PA Bluestone comes in blue, lilac (reddish brown), and full-color which is a dull greenish gray with brown striations throughout. In the other 10% we use Buckingham Slate (black or mid-night blue as they say at the quarry) or one of a half dozen other stone types that lend themselves to this application Installation can be done either on top of concrete or done using a dry-lay technique where a crusher/run and Class-A sand is used for the foundation. In the case of installation on concrete spaces between the stones are mortared while in the dry-lay a polymeric sand is applied.