Building Stones

Lecture # 02
Week 4

By

Engr. NISAR ALI KHAN

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 Stones used in most historical places
◦ Pyramids of Egypt
◦ Taj Mahal of Agra, India
◦ Great wall of China
◦ Greek and Roman structures
◦ Quaid’s Mausoleum in Karachi
◦ Shahi mosque in Lahore
◦ Forts at Rohtas, Lahore
◦ Grand Trunk Road

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 Stone as building material lost its importance
due to
 Advent of cement and steel
 Structural strength can not be rationally (wisely)
analyzed
 Transportation difficulties
 Dressing problems

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 Stone: A construction material derived from
rocks in the earth’s crust and mixture of two
or more minerals.
 Mineral is a substance which is formed by the
natural inorganic process and possesses a
definite chemical composition and molecular
structure.

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 Construction of residential and public
buildings
 Construction of dams, weirs, harbors,
bridge, etc
 Face work of structures for appearance and
ornamental (decorative) value
 Road metal and railway ballast
 Aggregate for concrete
 Stone dust as substitute for sand
 Limestone for manufacture of lime, cement,
etc

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 Rocks

Geological Physical Chemical Practical

Granite,
Igneous Stratified Argillaceous
Basalts

Sedimentary Un-Stratified Siliceous Marble

Limestone,
Metamorphic Foliated Calcareous Sandstone,
Slate

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 Geological classification
 Igneous rocks (primary, un-stratified, eruptive) –
cooled down molten volcanic lava (magma). Basalts
and granites.
 Sedimentary rocks (aqueous, stratified) – gradually
deposited disintegrated rocks. Sand stones and
lime stones
 Metamorphic rocks – transformed due to great heat
and pressure. Granite to gneiss, lime stone to
marble, shale to slate

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 Physical classification
 Stratified rocks – separable distinct layers. Cleavage
plane of split visible. Slate, sandstone, lime stone
 Un-stratified rocks – no sign of strata, cannot be
easily split into slabs. Granite, basalt, trap
 Foliated rocks – having tendency to split up only in
a definite direction

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 Chemical Classification
 Siliceous rocks – containing silica SiO2 (sand) and
silicates. Granite, basalt, trap, quartzite, gneiss,
syenite, etc
 Argillaceous rocks – containing clay or alumina
Al2O3. Slate, laterite, etc
 Calcareous rocks – containing calcium carbonate or
lime. Limestone, marble, dolomite, etc

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 Practical Classification
 Granites
 Basalts
 Marbles
 Sandstones
 Slates
 Etc, etc

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 Appearance & color – uniform color, lighter shades
preferred, free from clay holes, spots
 Structure – Not dull in appearance, crystalline
homogenous close grained is good.
 Weight – heavier are compact, less porous, good
for hydraulic structures
 Strength – generally compressive strength needed,
igneous rock stones are stronger
 Hardness– resistance to abrasion (scrape), friction
and wear. Hardness scale 1 to 10
 Toughness – Withstand impact, vibrations, moving
loads
 Dressing – uniform texture and softness for fine
surface finish

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 Porosity and Absorption – exposed surface absorbs
rain water forming acids causing crumbling
(disintegrate) action. Cyclic freezing and thawing of
pore water
 Seasoning – hardening and weathering affect due
to evaporation of quarry sap and formation of
crystalline film. 6 to 12 months for proper
seasoning
 Weathering – resistance to action of weather
 Resistance to fire – free from calcium carbonate or
oxides of iron
 Durability – compact, homogenous and less
absorptive is more durable
 Cost – transportation, dressing and installation

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 Weathering test of natural building stones
 Durability test of natural building stones
 Water absorption and porosity test
 Test for determination of true specific gravity
 Compressive strength test

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 A truly representative sample of grade of stone
should be selected
 Sample may be selected from quarried (pit) stone
or natural rock
 Separate samples weighing at least 25 kg each
shall be collected from differing strata
 Test pieces for toughness or compressive strength
test shall be at least 10.0 x 12.5 x 7.5 cm in size
 Test pieces shall be free from fractures

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 Quarrying: An art of extracting from the rock
beds stones of different varieties used for
general building work and broken stones for
roads and concrete work, etc
 Quarry: The place from stone is obtained by
digging or blasting etc

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 Digging or Excavating Method. using
manual methods like crowbars etc
 Heating Method. Rock surface is heated for
several hours resulting into unequal
expansion and crushing of rock into small
pieces
 Wedging Method. Layered rock is split at
cleavage or seam (joints) using steel
wedges and pins
 Blasting Method. Hard and compact rock is
blasted out using explosives techniques

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 Pitched faced dressed – 2.5 cm edges dressed and
made square
 Hammer dressed, hammer faced, quarry faced or
rustic faced – dressed like a brick with 2.5 cm
rough edges for use in masonry
 Rough tooled – edges and corners made perfect
square and true
 Punched dressed – rough tooled improved up to 2
mm
 Fine tooled – fair smooth surface for ashler
masonry

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 Stones should be kept dry and applied coat
of paraffin, linseed oil, light paint, etc
 Stones should be washed with water and
steam to remove dirt and salt
 In industrial towns stones are preserved by
application of solution of baryta, Ba(OH)2 to
form insoluble barium sulphate
 Preservative treatment only slows down the
decay but does not stop it.

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 Cost – quarrying and cutting, dressing,
transportation charges, etc
 Fashion & Ornamental (decorative) value
including color, shade, etc specially after
prolong usage
 Durability resistance to fire and weathering

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 Heavy engineering works bridges, piers, break
waters, light houses
 Buildings facing the sea – granite, fine grained
sandstone
 Buildings in industrial area – granite, compact
sandstone
 Arches – fine grained sandstone
 Building face work – marble, close grained
sandstone
 Fire resisting structure – compact sandstone
 Road metal and aggregate for concrete – granite,
basalt, quartzite
 Railway ballast – coarse grained sandstone,
quartzite
 Electrical switch board – slate, marble

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Break waters

Light house

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 Definition - Building material made with
cement, sand and natural aggregates of
crushed stone for use in place of natural
stone
 Properties
 Made with white cement, sand and natural
aggregates of crushed stone
 Cast into any size
 Reinforced to desired higher strength
 Desired coloring may be achieved
 Desired finish may be achieved

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