Calades are narrow streets paved with irregular stones carefully laid by hand, often found in Provence, where footsteps echo like memories. They bear the patina of time.
Our calades add charm to your outdoor spaces today and enhance your landscaping. These river pebbles, known as calades, are sold by Noblema® throughout France and abroad. The pebbles are part of our regional heritage, once used in calades for the layout of village streets and squares, café terraces, etc. In Provence, a calade refers to a sloping street made of stones or paving stones.
Why use pebbles for paving ?
Using river pebbles for paving offers three main advantages :
- Our river rocks are French or European and are therefore environmentally friendly due to the proximity of supplies.
- River cobbles enhance your urban spaces with the charm and originality of natural stone that can be used for both pedestrian zones and roads.
- Large pebbles can be sawn or cleaved to ensure walking comfort and accessibility to persons with reduced mobility.
What type of pebbles should be used for paving ?
- River pebbles used for paving are rounded in shape and range in size from 60/80 mm to 80/120 mm or 120/120 mm for whole pebbles. When split and sawn, the diameter is the same, only the thickness is divided and reduced by half.
- The colours are fairly light, with beige, ochre, grey, black, pink and red… A mixture of shades and colours make them beautiful. This is due to the variety of stones found in our rivers: granite, limestone, basalt, quartz…
How to create a stone paving ?
Made from pebbles carefully laid by hand, it reflects ancestral know-how. The pebbles are laid on thin mortar with a base of 0/4 sand, water and cement. The joints are fairly liquid with finer 0/2 sand and cement.
The technique for creating a pebble pavement is the same as for laying old paving stones. However, it requires additional artistic skill in order to choose the right place for each pebble according to its shape and colour, thus ensuring a beautiful harmony.
Where can you find river pebbles and sawn pebbles ?
Noblema® offers a select range of pebbles for paving from France and Europe. This selection is based on calibrated and harmonious sizes, uniform and aesthetic shapes, and mixed colours to blend into the landscape and, last but not least, on the material’s resistance to weathering.
- Cat’s head pebbles : these are whole river pebbles, rounded and naturally weathered by time and water. A paving stone with cat’s head pebbles brings authenticity to your projects and will remind you of the beauty of Provençal alleyways.
- Stable pebbles : these are split pebbles, i.e. split by hand with a chisel or using a machine. With their irregular surface, they are reminiscent of the floors of old stables and add a rustic touch.
- Provençal paving stones : these are pebbles that have been sawn on top to create flat surfaces and allow access for people with reduced mobility. They are comfortable to walk on and evoke the charm of restaurant and café terraces in the Mediterranean landscape.
You can discover our range online or in person by visiting our landscaped garden in Drumettaz-Clarafond in Savoie (73).
Our pebbles match the reclaimed paving stones and kerbs that we also sell. The Noblema team will be happy to assist and advise you on your paving project.
To date, several municipalities in France and many private individuals have placed their trust in us by choosing sawn or split pebbles for the development of alleys and squares, terraces and courtyards with floor decorations (gutters, thresholds, floor mats, mosaics, etc.). For example, the town of Chaumont-sur-Loire (41) has created a cobblestone pavement using our Tête de chat paving stones, the town of Leigneux (42) has paved its town centre with stable pebbles, and the cities of Lyon (Avenue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) and Beynost (Mas de Roux complex) have paved their streets with our Provençal-style sawn paving stones. The Beynost project is described in detail in our blog article.
Packaging and delivery of river pebbles
The pebbles are packaged in 1.5-tonne big bags, equivalent to approximately 12m². We deliver anywhere in France and internationally using 25-tonne articulated lorries or lorries with tail lifts for smaller quantities. Contact us for delivery prices.
Did you know ?
- The word calade comes from Occitan, more specifically from the Provençal ‘calado’ or “calada”, which means ‘place paved with stones’, ‘sloping cobbled street’ or ‘hand-laid pebble pavement’.
- The inhabitants of the town of Villefranche-sur-Saône are known as caladoises and caladois in reference to the calades found in the town.
- The calade in Provence is a district of Marseille (15th arrondissement, near the industrial port).
- Since the 16th century, the term has referred to the slope of the streets, and later, the stones used for the calades allowed water to flow and drain away in the sloping streets.
Welcome to NOBLEMA®!
