TYPE OF BUILDING STONES

1. BUILDING
STONES

2. STONE
Stone is a natural building material and is obtained from
quarries (The exposed part of a rock from where stone is
obtained is termed as Quarry and the process of
obtaining stone from Quarry are called quarrying). Since
prehistoric days it has been used for constructing
different components of buildings like foundation, walls,
lintels, floors, roofs etc. Most of the ancient Buildings
were built with stones.
Rock-The portion of the earth’s crust having no definite
shape and structure

3. STONE MASONARY
The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone.
Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction.
However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and
workmanship, and the pattern the units are assembled in can
strongly affect the durability of the overall masonry construction.
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of
civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using
stone from the earth. These materials have been used to
construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts,
cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures. Famous
products of stonemasonry include the Taj Mahal, Cusco's Incan
Wall.

4. REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD BUILDING
STONE
To qualify as a construction material, A good
building stone should possess several
characteristics such as:
 high strength (i.e., crushing strength > 1000
kg/cm2),
 high durability,
 sufficient hardness (i.e., coefficient of hardness >
14),
 good fire resistance,
 low water absorption
 facility for carving and dressing,
 weather resistance and better appearance.

5. 1. Appearance:
The stones to be used for face work must have a uniform
and pleasing color. It must be free from cavities, cracks,
flaws and patches of loose and soft material etc.

6. 2.Strength: A good building
stone should have sufficient
crushing strength to
withstand the load of
superstructure. In general,
compressive strength
should not be less than
100N/mm2. It should be
strong.

7. 3.Hardness: The stone used in floors, pavements, Stair
treads and aprons of bridges, should be able to resist the
abrasive forces caused due to wear and friction. For good
stone wear should be equal or less than 3%. It terms of
coefficient of hardness, it should be more than 14.

8. Hardness:
Talc, easily scratched with the thumb-nail:
Gypsum, scratched by the thumb-nail:
Calcite, not scratched by thumb-nail but easily cut by knife:
Fluorite, can be cut by knife with greater difficulty than calcite:
Apatite, can be cut only with difficulty by knife:
Orthoclase, can be cut w/ knife w/ great difficulty on thin edges:
Quartz, not scratched by steel, scratches glass:

9. 4.Durability:
A good building stone must be
durable enough to resist the
effect of weathering agencies e.g.
rain, wind, temperature etc. It
should have fine grained,
compact and crystalline structure.
It is necessary for exterior
stonework

10. 5.Workability: The stone to
be used should be easy to
cut and dress into different
sizes and shapes.

11. 6.Density:
A good building stone
should be less porous. It
should not absorb more
than 5% of water. Any
stone absorbing 10% of
water should be rejected.

12. 7.Toughness:
Building stones should be tough enough to
withstand stresses developed due to
vibrations of machinery and moving loads
over them. The stones used in the
construction of roads should be hard as well
as tough.
8. Texture:
A good building stone should have a close
grained and compact texture. It should be
free from cavities and cracks.
9. Availability:
It should be easily available and cheap.

13. CLASSIFICATION OF STONES
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid
aggregate of minerals . The Earth's outer solid layer, the
lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three
types, namely,
 Igneous Rocks
 Sedimentary Rocks
 Metamorphic Rocks

14. Igneous rock are mainly formed through volcanic material such as magma.
Underneath the Earth's surface, liquid magma cooled and solidified. Mineral gases
and liquids penetrated into the stone and created new crystalline formations with
various colors.
Example: Granite

15. Metamorphic rocks has undergone a change in structure, texture, or
composition due to the natural agencies, as heat and pressure,
especially when the rock becomes harder and more crystalline, as
marble and slate.
A metamorphic rock is a result of a transformation of a pre-existing rock.
The original rock is subjected to very high heat and pressure, which
cause obvious physical and/or chemical changes. Examples of
these rock types include marble, slate, gneiss, schist.

16. Sedimentary rock came from organic elements such as glaciers, rivers,
wind, oceans, and plants. Tiny sedimentary pieces broke off form these
elements and accumulated to form rock beds. They were bonded through
millions of years of heat and pressure. This is the softest and most porous
stone. Examples: limestone, sandstone and shale
Sedimentary rocks are also known as aqueous or stratified rocks.

17.  Man Made Stones are derived of unnatural
mixtures such as resin or cement with the
additive of stone chips.
a)Terrazzo: Marble and granite chips embedded in
a cement composition.
b)Agglomerate or conglomerate: Marble chips
embedded in a colored resin composition.

18.  c) Cultured or Faux Marble: A mix of resins that are
painted or mixed with a paint to looks like marble.

19. CLASSIFICATION OF STONE MASONARY
Types of Stonemasonry are:
 Rubble Masonry
When roughly dressed stones are laid in a mortar
the result is a stone rubble masonry.
 Ashlar Masonry
Well arranged and cut stones set in mortar.

20. CLASSIFICATION OF STONE MASONARY

21. Rubble masonry is rough, uneven building stone
set in mortar, but not laid in regular courses. It
may appear as the outer surface of a wall or may
fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit
masonry such as brick or cut stone.

22. Ashlar Masonary is dressed stone work of any type of
stone. Ashlar blocks are large rectangular blocks of
masonry sculpted to have square edges and even faces.
The blocks are generally 13 to 15 inches in height. When
smaller than 11 inches, they are usually called “small
ashlar”. Ashlar blocks are used in the construction of
many old buildings as an alternative to brick. Generally
the external face is smooth or polished; occasionally it
can be decorated by small grooves achieved by the
application of a metal comb.

23. TYPES OF ASHLAR MASONARY
The two types of ashlar masonry are:
 Ashlar Fine masonry
 Ashlar chamfered.
They can be either rough tooled or fine
tooled.

24. Ashlar Chamfered: In this type of masonry the specification
regarding size, bond and joint are similar to ashlar fine
masonry. But the stones used are beveled for a depth of
2.5cm and beveled angel is 450 around the face.

25. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Granite – igneous origin, hard,
strong, durable and capable of
taking high pressure polish. Red,
pink, yellow, green, blue, white and
brown.
Used for:
flooring
wall paneling
column
mullion facing
stair threads flagstone

26. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Limestone – sedimentary rock like
dolomite, no cleavage lines, low in
absorption, smooth, uniform in
structure & composition. High
compressive & tensile strength
Used for:
wall & floor surfaces

27. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Travertine – sedimentary rock,
pleasing texture with small natural
pockets on a cut surface.
Used for:
interior decorative stone

28. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Marble – A recrystallized limestone
that formed when the limestone
softened from heat and pressure and
recrystallized into marble where a
mineral change occurred. The main
consistency is calcium and dolomite.
Ranges in many colors and is usually
heavily veined and shows grains
Used for:
flooring
wall & column facing

29. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Sandstone – class of rock of
cemented silica grains with
texture ranging from very fine
to very coarse. Colors vary
from buff, red and light
brown. Porous where as 30%
of volume composed of pores

30. TYPES OF BUILDING STONES
Slate Rock – metamorphosis of
clays and shale's deposited in
layers. May be separated into
thin, tough sheets called slates .
Colors are black, green red, grey,
or purple.
Used for:
flooring
window sills
stools
stair treads & facing