Window sill for deep window niche in 50s house - choice of material?

[andypandy72]

We currently have deep window niches (about 25 cm), which are only painted. I would like to install a dark, dark gray colored stone slab of some kind in the niche.

We don't know much about various stone products and don't want to pay too much. We would like a bit of a functionalist, 1930s feel and are therefore primarily considering fine custom-made stone slabs. We don't want wood/MDF.

What type of stone material should we choose and what should we consider? I have found a few companies that customize granite and marble windowsills, but the costs add up quickly. Are there some stone materials that are more cost-effective than others?

Thanks for the tips and help!

 

[andypandy72]

up! Hoped for at least one response anyway....

 

[KnockOnWood]

Dark gray?

Then I would say slate.

It is a domestic material, and not particularly expensive I believe.
Especially if it doesn't need to be high-gloss polished.

 

[eviljava]

Cast your own in concrete. It's incredibly cheap and looks fantastic! A bag of concrete costs about 50 SEK and should be enough for about 3 slabs (depending on size). You might reinforce a bit, the cost for this is probably another 50 SEK.

If you want it extra dark, you can treat it with concrete oil.

 

[vectrex]

The cheapest option is probably to cast your own from concrete. There are many threads about how to do this. Another tip is large tiles that you cut to the right size yourself.

EDIT: eviljava was faster!

 

[arkTecko]

There is nice limestone that is dark gray, we ourselves have a type called Melly Grey.

 

[KnockOnWood]

Cast your own in concrete. It's incredibly cheap and looks fantastic! You can get a bag of concrete for about 50:- and it should be enough for about 3 slabs (depending on size). You may also want to reinforce a little, the cost for this is probably another 50:-

If you want it extra dark, you can treat it with concrete oil.

Have you done it yourself Eviljava?

Please upload some pictures of how you did it!

For lazy people like me, it sounds quite exhausting.

 

[eviljava]

Have you done it yourself Eviljava?

Please upload some pictures of how you did it!

For lazybones like me, it sounds quite troublesome.

Yep, I actually cast a few of them last winter. Here are pictures of two of them. Not the best pictures, but that's all I can manage on a Saturday morning...





The slabs aren't treated with anything other than floor soap. If you want them darker, concrete oil or something similar should be able to be used.

Edit: they are darker in reality. It's the sun reflections that make them look a bit lighter on the surface.

 

[Johan Gunverth]

Fine Swedish limestone, like Jämtland which has dark gray variants.

http://www.sten.se/stenkartoteket/kalksten-och-marmor/jamtland-gra/