Selecting the right stone

Sunlight, moisture, foot traffic, soluble salts, and

pollution affect each type of stone differently

works equally well in all applications. Salts and pollutants carried by mois-

A
lthough more than 8,000 vari-
eties of dimension stones sup-
posedly exist in the world,
most are varieties of marble, granite,
limestone, sandstone, and slate (Table
1). Which type of stone should you
use? It depends on the use: For walls
or floors? Interior or exterior? City or
countryside? Warm climate or cold?
On the coast or inland? No stone
Sunlight, moisture, foot traffic, soluble
salts, and pollution affect each stone
differently. Thickness of the stone pan-
el also greatly affects its performance.
Water problems
Moisture can destroy stone in sever-
al ways: Absorbed moisture can freeze
and cause spatting in some stones.
ture (from groundwater or air pollu-
tion) can cause efflorescence and
spalling. If enough moisture penetrates
stone, heat from sunlight can increase
vapor pressures to the point where
spalling occurs.
Porosity, permeability, absorption,
and capillarity of stone are, therefore,
important considerations in any exteri-

TABLE 1 PROPERTIES OF STONE

Stone Type Absorption Density Compressive Modulus of Abrasion Flexural Acid Thermal Modulus of Ultimate Ultimate
by Weight, min. lb./ft3 Strength, Rupture,Resistance, Strength, Resistance, Expansion Elastisity, Shear Tensile
max. % ASTM C 97 min. psi min. psi min. min. psi max. in. Coefficient psi Strength,
Strength,
-6
ASTM C 97 ASTM C 170 ASTM C 99 hardness ASTM C 880 ASTM C 217 10 /° F psi psi
ASTM C 241
Marble
ASTM C503
I. Calcite 0.25 162 7500 1000 10 1000 N/A 3069 1,970,000 1638 150
II. Dolomite 0.25 175 7500 1000 10 1000 to to to to
III. Serpentine 0.25 168 7500 1000 10 1000 12.30 144,850,000 4812 2300
IV. Travertine 0.25 144 7500 1000 10 1000

LIMESTONE
ASTM C568
I. Low
density 12 110 1800 400 10 – N/A 2.4 3,300,000 900 300
II. Medium to to to to
density 7.5 135 4000 500 10 – 3.0 5,400,000 1800 715
III. High
density 3 160 8000 1000 10 –

GRANITE
ASTM C 615 0.40 160 19,000 1500 – – N/A 6.3 5,700,000 2000 600
to to to to
9.0 8,200,000 4800 1000

SANDSTONE
ASTM C616
I. Sandstone 20 140 200 300 8 – N/A 5.0 1,900,000 300 280
II. Quartzitic to to to to
Sandstone 3 150 10,000 1000 8 – 12.0 7,700,000 3000 500

SLATE
ASTM C 269 ASTM C 121 ASTM C 120
I. Exterior 0.25 – – across grain 8 – 0.015 9.4 9,800,000 2000 3000
9000 to to to to
Along grain 12.0 18,000,000 3600 4300

Source: ASTM standards and Ref. 2. Titles of ASTM standards are listed
below. All are published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume
04.08, “Natural Building Stones; Soil and Rock,” published by ASTM,
1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
C 97 Test Methods for Absorption and Bulk Specific Gravity of Natural
Building Stone
C 99 Test Method for Modulus of Rupture of Natural Building Stone
C 120 Flexure Testing of Slate (Modulus of Rupture, Modulus of
Elasticity)
C 121 Test Method for Water Absorption of Slate
C 170 Test Method for Compressive Strength of Natural Building Stone
C 217 Test Method for Weather Resistance of Natural Building Stone
C 241 Test Method for Abrasion Resistance of Stone Subjected to Foot
Traffic
C 503 Specification for Marble Building Stone (Exterior)
C 568 Specification for Limestone Building Stone
C 615 Specification for Granite Building Stone
C 616 Specification for Sandstone Building Stone
C 629 Specification for Slate Building Stone
C 880 Test Method for Flexural Strength of Natural Building Stone
or application. Though all the build-
ing stones described in Table 1 are
used as exterior cladding, National
Bureau of Standards tests found slate
to be the least permeable building
stone, followed by granite, marble,
limestone, and sandstone (Ref. 1).
Some sandstone is soft and absorbent,
making it particularly susceptible to
moisture damage. Because moisture
can rise from the ground by capillary
TABLE 2 WHICH STONE SHOULD YOU USE?
Granite Slate Marble
stone
Exterior veneer Excellent N/A
Interior veneer Excellent N/A
Exterior paving Excellent Good
(rough surface) (slippery)
Interior flooring Excellent Excellent
(honed finish)
action, no stone should be placed in
contact with soil.
To minimize moisture problems,
use dense stones for the most severe
exposures. Dense stone absorbs less
moisture. Their smooth surfaces also
catch and retain fewer airborne pollu-
tants. Used horizontally, though,
smooth, dense stone can be slippery.
Other problems
Each type of stone has its chal-
lenges. Dark-colored marbles can fade
when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
Limestone and marble are attacked by
sulfurous and sulfuric acids. Some rel-
atively fine-grained, “pure” marbles
grow in size after each heating cycle.
Though slight, this growth is perma-
nent. In thin veneers (less than 2 inch-
es), it can warp the panel like a dish.
This problem, called hysteresis, can be
minimized by using thicker panels or
by designing the stone support system
to accommodate it.
Thermally finishing granite panels
reduces their bending strength by as
much as 30%. It also creates micro-
cracks, especially in quartz and
feldspars. These micro-cracks can ab-
sorb water to a depth of about 1/4 inch,
which may lead to freeze-thaw dam-
age (Ref. 2).
Flooring
Stone used for commercial flooring
must have good abrasion resistance to
foot traffic. It should have a minimum
rating of 8 or 10 as determined by
ASTM C 241. It also should resist
staining.
Granite is extremely durable under
these conditions and retains a high pol-
ish with less maintenance required
than other stones. Many people select
granite over marble or limestone as
flooring because it is more dense.
However, fluids can enter between
crystals and cause shadowing or dark-
ening. The stain often is locked be-
neath the crystals and cannot be re-
moved.
Marble and limestone flooring stain
Limestone Sand-
Good Good Good
Excellent Excellent Excellent
Poor Poor Poor
Good Fair Poor
(honed finish)
easily, too, but a poultice can remove
most stains. Limestone flooring should
be medium or high density (Type II or
III, ASTM C 568). The Indiana Lime-
stone Institute does not encourage us-
ing limestone for flooring. Because
flooring holds moisture and dirt more
than walls, limestone flooring over
time takes on a patina (some call it a
stain) that doesn’t match the same
limestone used in walls.
Certain types of marble flooring al-
so “bruise,” a term used to refer to a
slight discoloration that may look like
the mark left on bulletproof glass after
impact from a bullet (Ref. 3). This is
caused by impact of sharp objects,
such as women’s high heels.
Marble flooring wears best when it
has a honed rather than a polished fin-
ish. While the polished finish may
wear off, over time the honed finish
develops a patina. For example, honed
travertine flooring has served beauti-
fully for many years in New York’s
Grand Central Station and Rome’s St.
Peter’s Basilica. A polished finish al-
so can be slippery.
Stone flooring problems increase as
the thickness of the stone decreases.
With thin tiles 3/8 inch or less, the
bedding must be virtually perfect or
cracking occurs. Any unevenness in
the substrate causes stress in the stone
flooring when it is loaded. Thick-set
conventional mortar bedding, as op-
posed to thin-set installations, can help
level the surface and prevent these
problems.
Vanities
Bar tops, vanities, and kitchen coun-
ters are popular places for stone. All
stones, however, do not perform well
in these areas. Marble, including
travertine, is highly susceptible to
stains from liquor, fruit juices, and
even milk. Vinegar and orange juice
actually etch the surface. One hotel
chain found that many of the stains in
their marble vanities came from am-
monia cleaners used to clean the bath-
room mirrors. To avoid such problems,
sealers might be tried.
Dark green serpentine marbles stain
less easily than other colors, and a
honed finish hides stains better than a
polished surface. Darker granites can
absorb stains but they don’t show them
as well. Granite also resists scratches
better than marble or travertine. Never
use sandstone or limestone for vani-
ties.
Test first
The building stones described here
are not man-made to specific require-
ments. They’re products of nature.
Consequently, their properties vary
widely. Even stones from the same
quarry often have different material
properties. The properties given in the
table should thus be used only for pre-
liminary design. Before final design,
tests should be performed on samples
of the stone that will be used. These
samples should be of the same thick-
ness, size, and finish as planned for the
building—and they should be selected
randomly.
—by Christine Beall
R e f e re n c e s
1. Frederick S. Merritt, Ed., Building Con-
struction Handbook, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill,
1965.
2. Ian Chin, et al, “The Design of Thin
Stone Veneers on Buildings,” Building
Stone Magazine, May/June 1986, Building
Stone Institute, 420 Lexington Avenue,
New York, New York 10170.
3. Robert Hund, “Rolling Stones,” Through
the Ages, Fall 1988, Marble Institute of
America, 33505 State Street, Farmington,
Michigan 48024.
PUBLICATION #M890230
Copyright © 1989, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved