Sandblasted Marble Pavers

Sandblasting fires fine abrasive at the cut face of the marble and leaves a uniform matte texture, somewhere between fine sandpaper and suede. It is a finish, not a color: any marble can be sandblasted, and the same stone is also cut leather (a lower-sheen brushed texture with square edges) and tumbled (softened edges, an aged look). The reason sandblasted is the most-ordered marble finish for pool decks is grip. The texture holds a wet foot better than leather and far better than honed or polished, it does not change with wear, and it takes a sealer well because the open face lets it penetrate.

How it looks

Sandblasting lightens a stone. The texture scatters light, so a sandblasted Ice White reads chalk-white, a sandblasted gray reads a shade paler than the same stone leather-finished, and veining is softened rather than sharp. If you want the color at its deepest, choose leather; if you want it at its brightest and most forgiving of dust and water spots, choose sandblasted. Edges are square on a sandblasted paver, which suits a modern layout in 24x24 or 24x48 as well as a traditional French pattern.

Sandblasted marble vs travertine

Both grip well wet. Tumbled travertine stays cooler in full sun because it is porous; sandblasted marble is denser, holds a crisper edge, comes in true whites and grays that travertine does not, and shows less piece-to-piece variation. In a hot climate on a barefoot deck, a light sandblasted marble is close to travertine for comfort; a dark one is not. The marble vs travertine comparison goes through heat, cost and winter.

Care

Seal with a penetrating sealer after the joints cure and every two to four years; the open texture takes sealer well and holds it. Clean with a pH-neutral stone cleaner, never an acid; marble etches. The texture does not trap dirt the way travertine pits can, so a hose and a soft brush is the usual routine. Match the field with sandblasted pool coping in the same stone so the edge grips as well as the deck does.