Building Stones

June 13, 2016 Saujanya Nepal Construction Material, Rock & Stones 0

Building stones are the naturally occurring massive, dense rock which can be cut or shaped into blocks or slabs for use in
wall, paving, roofing materials or other construction works. They have been used as building material since very early period
of our civilization. Be it igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary, a building stone is chosen for its use, durability, attractiveness,
economy or other properties as desired. Some of the common building stones are Granite, Basalt, Slate, Gneiss, etc. which
are discussed below:
Common Building Stones
1. Granite
1. Classification: Igneous, siliceous variety
2. Composition: Quartz, feldspar and mica (Granite containing high percentage of quartz is very
refractory; as the proportion of quartz decreases as that of feldspar increases, the stone
becomes easier to work with).
3. Characteristics:
 Specific gravity: 2.64 and absorption less than 1%
 Crushing strength: 110 to 140 MN/m2.
 Colour depends upon that of feldspar and may be brown/ grey/ green or pink.
Uses:
 ornamental columns/plinths;
 construction of sea walls, bridge piers;
 large pieces are used as building blocks;
 smaller pieces as road metals or railway ballast;
 chippings are used for the manufacture of concrete or artificial stones.
may be used as damp-proof course and external cladding of walls
2. Basalt or trap
1. Classification: Igneous, siliceous variety
2. Composition: Silica alumina and feldspar
3. Characteristics:
 Crushing strength 70 to 80 MN/m2
 Specific gravity = 2.96
 Basalt is rough, lightweight and grey to black in colour.
 It has good sound absorption and insulation; heat
insulation and heat reserve capacities.
 It is environmentally green building material. Basalt is
acid and alkali resistant.
Uses:
 Suitable for paving sets and as road metal
 Used for manufacture of artificial stones
 Used as aggregate in concrete
3. Slate
1. Classification: Metamorphic rock formed from shale
(Argillaceous variety)
2. Composition: Alumina mixed with sand or carbonate of
lime
3. Characteristics:
 Specific gravity = 2.8
 It can be split into thin sheets
 Crushing strength 60 to 70 MN/m2
 It is non-absorbent
 Sheets of slate are strong under transverse loading
and quite impervious to water hence they make ideal
good roof covering.
Uses:
 For making electrical switch boards
 Suitable for use in cisterns, urinal partitions etc.
Can be set into walls to provide a rudimentary damp-proof
membrane
4. Gneiss
1. Classification: Metamorphic rock, sometimes called
stratified or bastard granite with somewhat laminated
structure. Syenite is a rock similar to granite but
composed mainly of feldspar instead of quartz.
2. Composition: Quartz and feldspar
3. Characteristics:
 can be readily split into slabs
 is more easily worked than granite.
Uses:
 For street paving
5. Sandstone
1. Classification: Sedimentary rock (Siliceous variety)
2. Composition: Quartz and/or feldspar cemented by lime, mica, magnesium, aluminium, oxide or iron or
by a mixture of these materials. Sometimes fragments of limestone, mica or feldspar are also
present.
3. Characteristics:
 Specific gravity = 2.25
 Crushing strength = 35 to 40 MN/m2
 Flagstone: sandstone of thin-bedded variety
 Grit: rock composed of angular sharp edged sand grains
 Free stone: sandstone that can be cut easily with mallet and hammer into blocks for building
 Durability of sandstone depends upon the nature of cementing material. The quality of sandstone is
poor if it is porous or contains lime or clay.
 Sandstones are generally weak in abrasion.
 They hold considerable water and allow percolation through them.
Uses:
 Fine grained are used for ashlar work, mouldings, carvings etc.
 Rough and coarse grained are used for rubble work; for slabs and tiles.
6. Limestone
1. Classification: Sedimentary rock of calcareous variety.
2. Composition: Pure state contains CaCO3 but
frequently mixed with MgCO3 and small amount of
silica and alumina. Limestones containing 10% or
more of magnesia are called as magnesian and those
having over 45% of it are termed as dolomites.
3. Characteristics:
 Specific gravity = 2.6
 Crushing strength = 52 MN/m2
Uses:
 in blast furnaces, bleaching and tanning industries
 for stone masonry for walls and paving set in floors
 for manufacturing lime and cement
 quarry waste is used as road metal
7. Marble
1. Classification: Metamorphic rock (changed from
limestone or dolomite) of calcareous variety.
2. Composition: CaCO3 is the main constituent.
3. Characteristics:
 Specific gravity: 2.72
 Crushing strength 50 to 60 MN/m2
Uses:
 for carving and decoration works
for steps, wall linings, electrical switch boards, table slabs
and columns
8. Quartzite
1. Classification: Metamorphic rock of siliceous variety
originally sandstone.
2. Composition: Silica
3. Characteristics:
 Dense, hard and glassy structure.
 Highly resistant to chemical weathering.
 Orthoquartzite is very pure quartz sandstone, often
99% SiO2.
Uses:
 as road metal/ railway ballast
 in concrete
 in rubble masonry
 for heavy construction like retaining walls, bridge piers,
dams etc.
9. Kankar
It is an impure limestone containing 30% of clay and sand
available in grey or khaki colour and have porous
structure.

Uses:
 for preparing hydraulic lime
 as road metal
 in foundations of buildings
10. Laterite
 Sedimentary, argillaceous rock of Sp. gr. = 2.2
 It is a material of low compressive strength of 2 to 4
MPa.
 It is sandy claystone containing high percentage of iron
oxide.
 A calcareous laterite with lime content called kankar.
Uses: as building stones; as road metal.
11. Moorum
It is a decomposed laterite.

Uses:
 for surfacing fancy paths and garden walks (due to its
rich red colour)
 it serves as a fine blindage for metalled rods.
12. Gravel
It is a mixture of rounded water worn pebbles of any kind
of stone with sand.
13. Chalk
It is pure, white limestone. It is used for manufacture of
Portland cement and for marking and as a colouring
matter.it is unsuitable for building purposes.

14. Shingles
Broken shingles are used in concrete and as road metal
or railway ballast or in concrete.
Characteristics of good building stones
Some of the characteristics or properties of good building stones are as follows:
1. Appearance and colour: Stones with much iron should be discouraged as the formation of iron oxides
disfigures them and brings about disintegration.
2. Weight: Building stones must be heavy
3. Porosity and absorption: Stones with much pores are unsuitable because of water seeping into pores with
acids and fumes destroy the stone. Water may freeze at colder climate and hence split the stone.
4. Fineness of grains: Fine grained are suitable for moulding works.
5. Compactness: Stone’s durability is decided by its compactness.
6. Resistance to fire: Stone should be homogenous in composition and free form calcium carbonate or oxide
of iron.
7. Electrical resistance: The electrical resistance decreases when it gets wet. A stone should be non-
absorbent (like Slate) to have steady and high electrical resistance.
8. Hardness and toughness: A good building stone must be hard and tough. Hardness may be tested by
scratching by pen knife and toughness by subjecting it to hammer action.
9. Strength: Building stones should be strong in compression.
10. Durability: Compact, homogeneous stones having negligible water absorption are durable.
11. Seasoning: The stones after quarrying and dressing should be left for a period of 6 to 12 months.
WHAT ARE THE ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF STONES?
Suryakanta | June 11, 2015 | Geotechnical, Materials, Rock | 3 Comments
1. STRUCTURE
The structure of the stone may be stratified (layered) or unstratified. Structured stones
should be easily dressed and suitable for super structure. Unstratified stones are hard
and difficult to dress. They are preferred for the foundation works.

2. TEXTURE
Fine grained stones with homogeneous distribution look attractive and hence they are
used for carving. Such stones are usually strong and durable.

3. DENSITY
Denser stones are stronger. Light weight stones are weak. Hence stones with specific
gravity less than 2.4 are considered unsuitable for buildings.

4. APPEARANCE
A stone with uniform and attractive colour is durable, if grains are compact. Marble and
granite get very good appearance, when polished. Hence they are used for face works in
buildings.
6. HARDNESS
It is an important property to be considered when stone is used for flooring and pavement. Coefficient of hardness
is to be found by conducting test on standard specimen in Dory’s testing machine. For road works coefficient of
hardness should be at least 17. For building works stones with coefficient of hardness less than 14 should not be
used.

7. PERCENTAGE WEAR
It is measured by attrition test. It is an important property to be considered in selecting aggregate for road works
and railway ballast. A good stone should not show wear of more than 2%.

8. POROSITY AND ABSORPTION

All stones have pores and hence absorb water. The reaction of water with stone causes disintegration. Absorption
test is specified as percentage of water absorbed by the stone when it is immersed under water for 24 hours. For
a good stone it should be as small as possible and in no case more than 5.

9. WEATHERING
Rain and wind cause loss of good appearance of stones. Hence stones with good weather resistance should be
used for face works.
10. TOUGHNESS
The resistance to impact is called toughness. It is determined by impact test. Stones with toughness index more than
19 are preferred for road works. Toughness index 13 to 19 is considered as medium tough and stones with toughness
index less than 13 are poor stones.

11. RESISTANCE TO FIRE

Sand stones resist fire better. Argillaceous materials, though poor in strength, are good in resisting fire.

12. EASE IN DRESSING

Cost of dressing contributes to cost of stone masonry to a great extent. Dressing is easy in stones with lesser strength.
Hence an engineer should look into sufficient strength rather than high strength while selecting stones for building
works.

13. SEASONING
The stones obtained from quarry contain moisture in the pores. The strength of the stone improves if this moisture is
removed before using the stone. The process of removing moisture from pores is called seasoning. The best way of
seasoning is to allow it to the action of nature for 6 to 12 months. This is very much required in the case of laterite
stones.