Stone used in design can be natural, agglomerate (natural stones/ stone in a binder) or a composite (crushed stone with bonding agents and pigments- able to be a free form shape)

It can be cut in to slabs, or tiles, or used as a thin veneer.

We will be exploring each, and adding information about properties, where to use them, how to clean them.

from the random shapes of naturally occurring stone to precision cut, stone still has a natural warmth.

NATURAL STONE

MARBLE

is metamorphic derived from limestone.

Often white, sometimes coloured with streaks.

It can be polished.

Because it is soft it is easily scratched and marked.

GRANITE

is an igneous stone.

It has small flecks of different colours

It can be polished.

Because it is very hard it is used for floors and bench tops successfully.

LIMESTONE

is sedimentary - calcite, shells and sediment loosely held together.

It is natural beiges and browns.

It is sometimes dyed.

It can be filled and polished to look like marble.

When it is left in ground it becomes Travertine, then marble over many years.

SANDSTONE

is sedimentary - grains of quartz sands loosely held together.

It has a rough surface.

It is often used as a flagstone for outdoor paving and in large blocks was used to build colonial structures.

SLATE

is metamorphic made with clay, quartz and mica.

It has a sheet like layered structure.

It comes in several natural colours

AGGREGATE

pieces of crushed stone can be added to concrete - this can be done insitu or as tiles.