Shellstone Brushed Limestone Hexagon Mosaic Tiles 48x48

Shellstone is a limestone built from compacted shell debris, and the fragments within it are harder than the fine matrix binding them. A wire brush wears that matrix back faster than it wears the inclusions, so the fossils are left standing very slightly proud of the surface. On a small piece there is not enough face for the effect to register. At 48 mm each hexagon holds several shell sections, and the relief between them and the ground is both visible and palpable.

Set against the other two versions of this stone the choice becomes clear. Honed at the same size gives the fossils as flat cross-sections, cleanly cut and calm. Brushed at one inch gives texture without legible fossils. Brushed at two inches gives both, and it is the most tactile of the three.

The warm cream ground stays matte throughout, so nothing reflects and the relief reads by shadow alone. As with any porous limestone, seal before grouting; a brushed face takes up more sealer than expected on the first application.