For those who do not have a specialized view of rocks, stone is a high strength solid material that is sometimes used in construction. But the attitude of an expert on this subject will be quite different.

If you also intend to use stones in your building, it is good to know that the stones are classified into different groups according to their appearance, body strength, compactness, uniformity, shape and material. This article is dedicated to examining this issue and describing the types of building stones.

Types of building stones

There are various types of stones that you may not have even heard of, such as basalt, marble, quartzite, travertine, sandstone, gneiss, and granite. These stones are used as building materials.

Stones are generally extracted from hard rock mines for construction purposes. Stones used as building materials must be tough, durable and resistant to destructive agents (such as rain, sun, fog, etc.), high strength and perfect resistance.

Fragile, cracked, soft and low strength rocks will have not structural use. Depending on their toughness and resistance, the rocks will have different uses.

For example, harder rocks such as basalt and granite, due to their high strength and hardness, are more commonly used in major construction tasks - such as flooring, stairs, etc. - and lighter, less resistant rocks such as gneiss are more commonly used for Decoration

Specifications of the most famous building stones

Some of the stones mentioned are more commonly used and are therefore more popular. In this section we will introduce some of them and highlight their specific features

Basalt

This rock is an example of igneous rocks found in abundance. Basalt is a dense and hard rock that exists in a variety of colors in nature.

Basalt applications are generally industrial and are used in the road construction industry as concrete gravel or as stone in the construction of harbors, side and body of bridges, dam walls and rivers sides. The basaltic structure is compacted into fine or medium grains.

Its strength is in the range of 200MPA to 350MPA. Basalt has good resistance to weathering, but it looks a little weak against moisture. Its colors vary from dark gray to black in nature. Not bad to know that basalt also has a non-structural use.

Fibers which made of basalts have high abrasion, tensile, strength, and adhesion properties and have low flammability with dielectric properties.

Granite

Granite in one of the igneous rocks which composed of quartz, mica and feldspar. This stone is abundant in nature. Granite stone is very hard and rocky.

Because of its high strength, this type of stone is mostly used in constructions that require high strength. Depending on its composition, granite has different colors ranging from gray, and black to pink, blue and green.

Because of its rigidity and porosity, granite is a good choice for cabinets, open kitchens and interior decorations. It is also suitable for indoor fireplace use due to heat resistance.

The interesting thing to know about granite is that it is less resistant to heat than cold and weathering. If polished granite is used, it can have applications such as building columns, wall facades and flooring

Resistance to water penetration in the granite also makes this stone a building facade. Granite also has industrial uses and is used for civil engineering purposes, including bridge walls, barrier walls, stone pillars, concrete gravel, and ballast for rail rails.

Marble

It is a type of sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate and aragonite or dolomite. The rock is formed in hot water and is formed by the pressure exerted on sediments of the upper layers, which are usually algae, corals or calcium carbonate sediments.

There is no classification of marble in the world and this name is used only in Iran. This stone is also known as Sanandaj stone.

Marble is pure white, but because of the impurities that combination to form the raw materials of the stone, the colors are cream, red, brown, pink, black, mustard, green and ...

It is used in the construction of flooring and stairs. Water absorption and porosity of this rock is very low and it is fire resistant, suitable for high humidity and weathering.

Its specific weight is 2670 kg / m3 and is less dense than Crystal and Cloud marble stones

Sandstone

It is a type of sedimentary rock and is composed of quartz and feldspar. In essence, sandstone is formed by the transplantation of silica grains.

Sandstone has a variety of colors such as white, gray, red, brown and yellow; the reason for such colors is the main composition of sandstone, iron oxide and silica. Their porosity usually fluctuates between 5 and 25 percent. Due to weathering properties it is not suitable for use in building facades.

If sandstone is required in the building, they are used with a combination of silica cement - for heavy and concrete structures. Sandstone is used for harbors, construction of dams, wall of bridges and docks.

Another application of sandstone is its crushing properties. Its crumbs are used in the making of sharpening stones, which are a tool for sharpening edges of metal tools such as knives.

On the other hand, because of its high strength, it is a good material for foundry use and flooring.

Onyx

Onyx stones are one of the most widely used types of building stones, is composed of parallel Chalcedony strips and has a wide color spectrum.

The onyx stone is composed of many crystals and is composed of quartz and magnetite. Because of its transparent nature, it is often used in decorative work and light-reflecting walls; its other uses are in sculpture. In ancient Egypt and Greece onyx stone was used in the construction of temples.

Onyx is widely used in ornamental applications because of its beauty after polish, even great sculptures such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo have used Onyx in many of their works.

In addition, some believe that Onyx has very strong positive energies and has healing properties. This stone differs from Onyx marble, which has been transformed into limestone.

Quartzite

This type of rock is a metamorphic rock that is converted to pure quartz sandstone by heat and pressure.

Quartzite is much more durable than granite, which is suitable for use as a kitchen walls, cabinets.

White quartzite is very similar to marble but more resistant and lighter in color and purity

This stone can also be used as a decorative stone for stairs, tiles and floors. Crushed quartzite is also used to produce silica sand for industrial use.

Because of its hardness, this type of rocks is also used on top of rail ways. Compared to other building stones, quartzite is highly resistant to cold, heat, acidic materials, weathering and abrasion and can be said to be a very solid and functional stone.

Quartzite is often confused with granite rock, but it is more resistant to granite and appears to be rough, crystalline. Its color spectrum is mostly brown, red, and gray. Unlike other building stones, quartzite does not require special maintenance.

To clean the quartzite stone, simply use a damp cloth to wipe the surface from the dust, disinfectants for light spots, and a slightly sharpened tool for wiping harder spots like lacquer, Color or more.

Slate stone

 Tablets stones are another building stone, are sometimes also known as slates. This type of rock belongs to the metamorphic rock family and is formed when sedimentary rocks are put under high pressure.

The slate is highly resistant and on the other hand has a great ability to withstand weathering and humidity. The stone will remain firm against frost.

It can also be easily divided into custom parts and is therefore widely used for floor and ceiling coverings. The most common use of stone is in buildings to use floor stone, kitchen and cabinets.

The reason for this is the low water absorption by the rock, which makes it an ideal material. Slate sheets are mounted on the main facade, above windows, sloping cover, entrance porches of complexes and the like with varying slopes at the upper levels of the building. Slate stone is also used in paving the streets, sidewalks and stairs.

Travertine

Travertine, which is used as building stone, is a type of limestone which made from a quick mix of water and calcium carbonate. Usually this rock is found at the hot springs.

Specific weight of Travertine stone is 2500 kg / m3. Travertine is softer than hard marbles.

Travertine stone is resistant to climate change, rain and snow and has a great variety of colors.

Travertine stones are available in nature in white, cream, chocolate, red, walnut, yellow , lemon and silver because of its residence travertine can be used both in the exterior of buildings and in interiors.

The travertine rocks are veined in such a way that they can be classified into two types of wavy and un wavy. In recent years, the use of travertine stone for the exterior of buildings has been common. Travertine stones in Europe and America are also used in the floor

The pure travertine blocks extracted from the mines have different color varieties, so after cutting, they are classified into different color categories.

The appearance of travertine rocks is the presence of holes and troughs on their surface. Although this roughness can be easily smoothed by polishing to a smooth surface, it is used with the same appearance as for stone facades, flooring, and the walls of bath and...