The 2021 Census counts 7,393 residents here at a median age of 55, with 88 per cent of dwellings separate houses and 85.6 per cent owner-occupied. Most stone projects here are upgrades by long-term owners - a faded pool surround, an alfresco slab becoming a real outdoor room - and owners who plan to stay weigh durability and upkeep more heavily than any spec builder would.

The setting raises the stakes. Pelican Waters is a canal estate formed on the Bells Creek estuary, with 40 per cent or more of its area open space, and a $16 million marina with 126 wet berths - the first built on the Sunshine Coast in more than 30 years - now operating at its centre. Add golf-estate blocks around the Greg Norman-designed course that first opened in 2001, and much of the suburb's outdoor stone sits near salt water, in a region averaging 1,492.6mm of rain a year with January maximums of 29.1C.

Our answer is practical. The range spans travertine, limestone, marble, granite and porcelain tiles and pavers, plus pool tiles, wall cladding, crazy paving and sealers, so coping, paving and feature walls can be coordinated from one supplier. On price, the company's own account is that it buys with no middlemen, dealing 'directly with the source - mines, quarries, or factories' - its response to the comparison buyers openly make against big-box retail. And because no photo settles a colour choice, samples ship from a dedicated online section and full display walls stand in the Baringa showroom.