Building Materials

152

LECTURE 1 :
NATURAL STONE & STONE
PRODUCTS

BY : ZAITUL AFFIZA
 STONE
Stone or rock is perhaps one of the oldest building materials.

It is usually a combination of minerals made up various inorganic chemicals

substance but some rock such as sand stone might be composed of only one
mineral.

Stone used for construction is classified as igneous, sedimentary and

metamorphic.

Most stone is quarried and cut into blocks or slab sheets for building
purposes.

Stone is selected as a building material for its aesthetic appearance, durability

and maintenance.

The three stone categories that follow discuss the common building materials
derived from each.
IGNEOUS

Igneous stone is cooled molten rock found near the surface of the
earth.

It is very solid, hard and durable; is fine or coarse-grained and is

found in shades of green, pink, yellow and light to dark gray / black.

GRANITE
Igneous stone can be precision (accurate) cut and left with a rough
finish or polished to a highly reflective surface.

Granite an igneous stone is used for wall veneer, tabletops, steps,

flooring and other applications that require considerable wear.

Granite is harder than limestone, a sedimentary stone, a

metamorphic stone and is recommended for high traffic uses.
Granite Products
SEDIMENTARY

*In most places on the surface, the igneous rocks which make up the majority
of the crustare covered by a thin veneer of loose sediment, and the rock
which is made as layers of this debris get compacted and cemented together.

*Sedimentary rocks are called secondary, because they are often the result
of the accumulation of small pieces broken off of pre-existing rocks.
SANDSTONE

•Sandstone is a sedimentary rock but its high quartz content means that it is
considerably harder and hence more wear-resistant.

•As the name suggests, this type of stone is typically sandy both in color and
texture, ranging from pale beige through to deep reddish brown, but there are
also gray varieties.

•Common sandstone formats include flags and small blocks or 'setts'.

Perhaps the best-known of all sandstones is Yorkstone, which unsurprisingly
derives from Yorkshire in England.

•It is frost-resistant, hard-wearing and can be riven to create a ridged, non-slip

surface.

•Particularly appropriate for use outdoors as garden paving.

•The popularity of sandstone, however, is giving cause for concern, and the
material is on the verge of becoming rare.
LIMESTONE
*Limestone comprises a broad family of different types of stone, which vary
significantly in character.

*Softer than igneous rocks such as granite, limestone nevertheless shares the
timeless, rather monumental quality common to all types of stone.

*While limestone is quarried all over the world, French varieties are acknowledged
to be among the best, being typically very hard and non porous, and hence highly
suitable for paving and flooring.

*Chalky or creamy Caen stone is found around Boulogne; other types are quarried
in central regions and in the south and west, especially in the hills of Province.
*France is also a premier source of antique limestone.

*Other well known types include Portland stone, which is milky white; travertine,
quarried in Tuscany, a hard pitted limestone commonly used for paving; and
Jerusalem limestone from the Hebron Mountains, which is golden in colour.
Despite its long and distinguished history of use, limestone has a strong
contemporary appeal.
*In part, this is due to its characteristic neutrality: most limestone's are
light and subtle in tone.

*Limestone, also more obvious to show with luxury, its works well in
pure and modern interiors.

*Cool and elegant, polished limestone can look almost luminous.

*Limestone is typically pale in color, encompassing the narrow spectrum

of natural shades from off-white to biscuit to light gray.

*A few varieties, however, are more intensely colored; these rarer types
include blue, green, bitter chocolate and near-black.

*Almost all limestone displays some form of subtle patterning in the

form of flecks, veins or mottled patches.

*Its most attractive feature is fossilized shells or the evidence of ancient

marine deposits.
SANDSTONE
Limestone Products
METAMORPHIC
*Metamorphic stone is formed by intense pressure and heat from igneous or
sedimentary rock.

*Marble results from the crystallization of limestone and is a very hard (but
softer than granite) and durable material.

*It comes in many colors and is usually polished into shiny, smooth surface.

*Marble is used for decorative wall panels, flooring, countertops and tabletops
*The metamorphics get their name from "meta" (change) and "morph" (form).
Any rock can become a metamorphic rock.

*All that is required is for the rock to be moved into an environment in which
the minerals which make up the rock become unstable and out of equilibrium
with the new environmental conditions.

*In most cases, this involves burial which leads to a rise in temperature and
pressure. The metamorphic changes in the minerals always move in a
direction designed to restore equilibrium.

*Common metamorphic rocks include slate, schist, gneiss, and marble.

Stone Characteristic
•POROSITY
Porosity is the ratio of pores (micro-voids) in the stone, to its total
solid volume. Pores and the capillary structure develop differently in
each of the three stone groups.
•PERMEABILITY
Associated with stones porosity is its permeability. This is the extent
to which the pores and capillary structures are interconnected
throughout the stone. These networks, their size, structure and
orientation affect the degree and depth to which moisture, vapors and
liquids can be absorb into the interior of the stone or migrate from the
substrate by capillary action through the stone.
•ABSORPTION
Absorbency is the result of these two properties. Absorbency is an
important determining factor in stones sensitivity to stains. The size of
the pores, their orientation, how well they are networked and the type
of finish the stone has are important contributing factors to a stones
overall absorbency. In relation to cleanability this factor is more
important than how porous a stone is.
HARDNESS / DENSITY
Hardness and density in relation to stone surfaces is a measure of the resistance
of any substance that will scratch or abrade its surface. The hardness factor is a
physical property of the stones mineral composition, density and porosity.

DURABILITY
Stone like any other building material has its strengths and limitations, and these
qualities are based upon the stones inherent properties.
Durability is based upon the stones natural physical properties, characteristics
and the environmental conditions to which it will be or is subjected too.