There is a certain provenance that comes with french limestone. This is often unmatched with limestone from other areas of the world. Full of character, rusticity and history, this stone is popular around the world and even more so within the UK.

Types of French Limestone

There are a huge number of different types of French limestone available. Some are much more popular than others and they have different properties, tones and textures depending on their location. There are also limestones which are denser and thus extremely durable; making it perfect for indoor and outdoor use. Below we go over some of the more popular types of french limestone and their properties.

Combe Brune

A much lighter limestone floor tile. White and cream in colour with fine grey shell fossils. Here at Lubelska we supply a mix of combe brune and combe roche. This creates a mix of colours available and a range of tones.

Caen Limestone

This is one of the most popular types of natural stone available in France. It has a creamy yellow tone and has been used for a vast amount of historical buildings not only in the UK but France as well. Caen limestone is becoming harder and hard to acquire and is often kept for use for the renovation of old historic buildings.

However, there are many very similar alternatives to this type of stone available, which we go over below.

Bourgogne Limestone

Often a limestone with much deeper tones and variable colours ranging from browns and dark yellows to burnt oranges. This diverse natural stone french limestone flooring gives a feel of a floor that has been down for centuries.

Chauvigny Limestone

Quarried in the Vienne region of France, Chauvigny limestone is characterized by its distinctive beige or light grey color with occasional fossil inclusions. It has a slightly rough texture and is often used in interior and exterior applications, including flooring, wall cladding, and architectural elements.

Savonnieres Limestone

This limestone is sourced from the Loire Valley region of France. It has a light cream to beige color and is known for its fine grain and subtle veining. Savonnieres limestone is popular for flooring and is also used in countertops, fireplace surrounds, and other decorative applications.

Limestone tile finishes

When choosing your french limestone flooring there are several options with many different finishes and sizes available. Most quarries have the ability to create anything from a very smooth surface to a more aged, rustic finish. The antique stone floor gives the impression that it has been down for centuries.

The methods used include:

• Honed – A completely flat matte surface with sharp edges. This is probably the most popular and available finish. There is not much rusticity or patina in the tile.
• Polished – again, flat surface, but this has been polished to provide a reflective surface (sharp edges).
• Tumbled – This has been put through a tumbler which provides an aged, worn feel with rounded off edges. Often the shells of the limestone come through with a rustic patina.
• Brushed – this has gone through a mechanical brushing technique which provides a textured surface. This is often used around swimming pools and non-slip areas.

Out of these four, Lubelska provides a tumbled surface. We want to provide an antique french limestone floor with patina and texture. Although, we have the ability to provide all 4 finishes if required.

French limestone sizes

Often we see french limestone pavers and large slabs being used for both indoor and outdoor use. However, there are number of different options available. Limestone can be cut into different shapes and sizes.

We try to offer french limestone flooring in both large format, squares, hexagon and rectangular. Although we have the capability to offer this in a number of different sizes and shapes.

Below are french limestone tiles used in a square. These are cut at 150 x 150mm, tumbled with a mix of tones and patina between each tile.

Here, we have hexagons in a very similar fashion.

Large formate french limestone. This is the most popular and widely used size of flooring.