In centuries past, the use of stone in construction was generally limited to government buildings, large-scale public gathering places, and homes of the wealthy. The reason was that the same labor-intensive stone-processing techniques used for centuries previous were still practiced, making the use of stone exclusive because of its high cost.
Nonetheless, the appetite for the beauty of natural stone was grew stronger, and the stone industry finally caught up as the fabricators invented more efficient equipment to process stone with precision and most importantly, thinner dimensions. Stone producers realized the increased market potential of thin dimensional stone resulting from lower material and shipping costs.
Technology has dramatically changed the stone industry in the past 25 years and has enabled producers to process stone into thin modules, thereby reducing waste. And because of improved delivery systems, a material that was once considered a luxury is now available to the general public. Through technology, machinery has been developed capable of producing uniformly thin stone modules to a now standard dimension of at a price the average construction budget can accommodate.
Characteristics of Building Stone
A basic understanding of the geology of stone formation is useful when applied to the specific uses of stones in the built environment and the anticipated performance of stone types. The three primary geologic classifications of rock formations, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic stone; give us clues as to how the stone was created, how it is quarried, processed, and ultimately, how the stone will perform. Within each geologic classification there are sub groups which are intended to describe in more specific and detailed terms how a stone was formed. Gaining an understanding and appreciation for the creation of one of nature’s building materials is challenging, yet the subject is easily confused when the forces of international marketing are factored into the equation. A great deal of confusion is created by the marketers of stone products to create an exclusivity of a stone that currently exists or is new to the marketplace. This occurs when a quarrier and supplier incorrectly categorize a stone to better describe how the stone might perform making the stone more marketable. More blatantly, many marketers of international stones employ the use of proprietary names to protect their specification and eventually, their sale, while clouding the real identity of a stone. The negative impact on the industry is obvious; the architect and those who specify stone will not have the opportunity to make complete and accurate evaluations of a stone and its performance when the stone is veiled in mystery.
With increasing technology in the quarrying and fabrication of stone and with the improvement of the infrastructure of many emerging countries, more new stones are available in the marketplace today than ever before.
Production Finishes
- Polished
- high gloss, mirror like.
- Honed
- A duller sheen than a polished finish, matte like.
- Sawn
- Rough sawn from the block; will sometimes show the coarse blade marks from the gang saw or the circular marks of a disc saw.
- Sandblast
- A mechanical finish achieved by sandblasting the face of the stone. The degree of coarseness will vary based on the rate of the blasting and the length of time that the blasting wand is held in place.
- Flamed / Thermal
- A coarse, rough texture. The degree of coarseness will depend upon the texture to the aggregate or crystal mix.
- Water or Hydro finish
- A similar texture as a flamed finish, although less dramatic, and less destructive to the stone than the flaming process.
- Bush hammered
- A mechanically tooled finish utilizing a chisel type tool. Many types of directional and non directional bush hammered textures are available.
- Split Face
- A tooled finish achieved through striking the top edge of the stone with a chisel. Split face finishes can be produced by hand or mechanically.
- Tumbled
- An antiqued finish that is achieved by placing small stone modules into a mixing tub with coarse aggregates and water. The tumbling action rounds the edges and corners to give the stone a distressed appearance.
- Acid Washed
- An antiqued finish that is achieved by applying a diluted acid solution to the face of the stone. The longer the solution is in contact with the stone, the coarser the results. Acid solutions are particularly aggressive on calcareous stones.
