A Quick Start Guide to Know About Types of Stone

Stone is one of the oldest building materials. Stone masonry has been used for centuries to construct any of ancient buildings and other structures. It is usually a combination of minerals made up of various inorganic chemical substances, but some rocks, such as sandstone, are composed of only one mineral. Various types of stone are mentioned below.

Quarrying Stones

Stones are quarried from open natural rock fields with various tools and operations such as excavating, heating, wedging, blasting, boring, etc.

Uses

• Building Construction – building blocks, aggregates
• Surface finishes – flooring, wall cladding
• Roofing
• Sculpture and artwork
• Other home products

Qualities of Good Building Stone

• Appearance
• Durability and Strength – withstand against weather actions.
• Density and weight – stable against various loads
• Porosity – Impervious to water
• Hardness – Resistance against any deformations
• Ease of workability

Types of Stone

Geologically all rocks are classified into three types of stone

• Igneous
• Sedimentary
• Metamorphic

Igneous

• Igneous stone is cooled molten(Solidification of molten core) rock found near the surface of the earth. It is very dense, hard, and durable; is fine or coarse-grained; and is found in shades of green, pink, yellow, and light to dark gray/black.
• Granite, Basalt, Dolerites, etc. are examples
• It can be precision-cut and left with a coarse finish or polished to a highly reflective surface.

Types of stone

Granite

• Granite, an igneous stone, is impermeable to water, resistant to impact damage, and stable within industrial environments.
• It is harder than limestone, marble, etc., and is recommended for high-traffic uses.
• It is used for wall veneers, tabletops, steps, flooring, and other applications that require considerable wear.
• Surface finishes – Sawn, Rough Punched, Picked, Fine tooled, Honed, Polished.
• Finishes such as polishing are highly effective at displaying the intensity of colors and reflectivity of crystals.

Basalt

Basalt is a fine-grained stone as hard as Granite.

Sedimentary

• Sedimentary rocks are produced by the weathering and erosion of older rocks.

• It is formed primarily by water, chemical action, and erosion. It is generally soft and easier than granite to cut but not as durable. However, many historic buildings that were built of this stone have withstood the test of time.

Sandstone

• Deposits of sand cemented together by calcium carbonate, silica, iron oxide, and dolomite produce Sandstones.
• Sandstones can be fine or coarse in texture. Finishes include sawn, split-faced, clean-rubbed, broached and droved, etc.
• They are frost-resistant.
• Types
  • Calcareous sandstone (Presence of natural calcium carbonate)
  • Siliceous sandstone (Predominantly grains of silica)
  • Ferruginous sandstone ( Oxides of Iron)
  • Dolomitic sandstone (mixture of magnesium and calcium carbonates)

Limestone

• Limestone consists mainly of calcium carbonate. The colors range from dark grays to white and tan.
• Finishes include fine rubbed, fine dragged, split-faced, etc.
• Types :
  • Oolithic limestone – formed by crystallization of calcium carbonate around small fragments of shell or sand.
  • Organic limestone – produced from broken shells and skeletal remains of sea animals and corals.
  • Crystallized limestone – When water containing calcium bicarbonate evaporates, it leaves a deposit of calcium carbonate. In the case of hot springs, the material produced is travertine.
  • Travertine is a form of limestone that has various textures and pits. It is used for tabletops, fireplace surrounds, and special wall trims.
  • Dolomitic limestone – calcium carbonate content partially replaced by magnesium carbonate.

Limestone has a wide range of uses depending on the finish of the stone as we mentioned earlier. This variety of uses, along with other factors such as cost, sustainability, and abundance, have caused a drastic increase in limestone popularity in the 21st century, and more specifically the use of limestone aggregates in construction. Its appealing look and host of benefits have made limestone a highly desirable material for use in countless areas of the construction site.

Shale is a fine-grained stone created from the natural compaction of clay mineral particles and silt. It sometimes can be found in stone wall construction, although it tends to break more easily into layers. Shale is also crushed and mixed with water to make objects from this clay-type material.

Metamorphic

• Metamorphic stone is formed by intense pressure and heat from igneous or sedimentary rock. They form from the recrystallization of older rocks.
• Marble results from the crystallization of limestone, Clay is metamorphosed to slate, and sandstone to quartzite.

Marble

• Marble is metamorphosed limestone in which the calcium carbonate has been recrystallized into a mosaic of approximately equal-sized calcite crystals.
• It is a very hard (but softer than granite) and durable material. It comes in many colors and is usually polished into shiny, smooth surfaces.
• Marble is used for decorative wall panels, fireplaces, flooring, countertops, and tabletops.

Slate

• It is derived from fine-grained sand-free clay sediments.
• Slate is acid and frost resistant.
• Finishes include natural riven finish, sawn, sanded, rubbed, honed, polished, flame textured or bush hammered.
• Slate is a rather brittle rock that splits readily into thin sheets. Its color usually is blue-gray, although black, green, and red are available.
• It is used mostly for flooring, roofing, cladding, copings, cills, and stair treads.

Quartzite

• It is metamorphosed sandstone.
• Quartzite is a durable and hard-wearing material mainly used as a flooring material.

Types of Stone Masonry

Types of stone masonry

https://cementconcrete.org/buildings/building-materials/stone-masonry/1959/

• Rubble Masonry
  • Coursed Rubble Masonry
  • Uncoursed Rubble Masonry
  • Dry Rubble Masonry
  • Polygonal Masonry
• Ashlar Masonry
  • Ashlar Fine Masonry
  • Ashlar Block in Course
  • Ashlar Chamfered Masonry
  • Ashlar Rough Tooled Masonry
  • Rock or Quarry Faced Masonry

Types of Stone Flooring :

Marble Flooring: https://thearchspace.com/natural-stone-marble-flooring/

Granite Flooring: https://thearchspace.com/natural-stone-granite-flooring/

Limestone Flooring: https://thearchspace.com/natural-stone-limestone-flooring/

Slate Flooring: https://thearchspace.com/slate-flooring/