STONE AS A BUILDING MATERIAL

LATERITE
SATYAJEET CHAVAN
PG 190865
BACKGROUND
1. Laterite occurs principally as a cap over the summits of Basaltic hills and
plateaus and is the characteristic feature of tropical monsoon regions.
2. It is best developed in the Western Ghats and its foothills.
3. Its geological nature was described only later by Francis Hamilton
Buchanan, a medical officer of East India Company. From Angadipuram in
Malappuram District of Kerala, he discovered a type of weathered material
which was indurated clay, full of cavities and pores, containing large
quantity of iron in the form of red and yellow ochre.
4. It was soft when fresh and could be cut easily and when exposed, it
became hard and resisted air and water much better than bricks
(Buchanan 1807).
5. He used the term laterite to designate this material (laterite in Latin means
‘brick stone’). He defined it as “a residual product of weathering, rich in
secondary oxides of iron and aluminum or both-nearly devoid of bases and
primary silicates and commonly found with quartz and kaolin and
developed in tropical or warm temperate climatic regions”.
6. Laterite has the peculiar property of being soft when newly quarried, but
being hard and compact on exposure to the air; also, loose fragments and
SOURCE:
pebbles of rock tend to re-cement themselves into solid masses as http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/schoolchildrens/major-
compact as the original rock. On account of this property it is usually cut in soil-types-map.jpg
the form of bricks for building purposes.
7. Laterite brick is generally red in color. It is porous and shows vermicular
structure. In vernacular, it is 123 called as “chenkallu”, “Ishtikkallu”,
“cheekkallu”, “vettukallu” etc.
8. Laterite can occur at every altitude from sea level to about 2500 m.
Laterite is found in the region of mean annual temperature of 23 to 26oC
and rainfall 1200 to 4000 mm and with the number of rainy months 6 to 9.
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PROPERTIES
• Laterites are residual sedimentary rocks, reddish or brownish
colored, comparatively soft rocks, containing high degree of
porosity and are carrying vermiform structures.
• The porosity is due to the in situ weathering of parent rocks.
• The laterite profiles show that its exposed layers are much harder
than the sub surface layers.
• Two or three layers differing in their texture, physical properties
and associations are usually found below the hard, indurated cap.

SOURCE:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259273158_Rare_earth_element_mobility_during_laterization_of_mafic_rocks_of_the_Oman
_ophiolite

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• Laterites are formed from the leaching of parent sedimentary
rocks(sandstones, clays, limestone's); metamorphic
rocks (schist's, gneisses, migmatites); igneous
rocks (granites, basalts, gabbros, peridotites); and mineralised proto-ores;
which leaves the more insoluble ions, predominantly iron and aluminium.
• The mechanism of leaching involves acid dissolving the
host mineral lattice, followed by hydrolysis and precipitation of insoluble
oxides and sulfates of iron, aluminium and silica under the high
temperature conditions of a humid subtropical monsoon climate.
• This process is known as Laterization

SOURCE: http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2004/model38g.pdf

• The mineralogical and chemical compositions of

laterites are dependent on their parent rocks.
• Laterites consist mainly of quartz, zircon, and
oxides of titanium, iron, tin, aluminium
and manganese, which remain during the course
of weathering.
• Quartz is the most abundant relic mineral from
the parent rock.
• Laterites vary significantly according to their
location, climate and depth.
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QUARRYING

The top soil is removed and cleaned before The stones are marked The stones are cut using saw blades
extraction of the stone in sizes insitu using attached to the plough
long nails and string

Stones are then loaded in the trucks A stone mason dresses the stone to They are further cut according to the
be sold required sizes

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 USES I S Code Specifications

1. The compact and ferruginous variety of laterite is

used widely as a building stone and road metal.
2. It cannot withstand heavy pressure hence, laterite
is used in construction of light structures, partition
walls, boundary walls, etc.
3. Laterite as a building stone possesses one
advantage that it is soft when quarried and can be
easily cut and dressed into blocks and bricks which
on exposure to air become hard.
4. The industrial use of laterite is in the Cement
Industry. It is used as an additive for lowering the
clinkerisation temperature and supplementing
aluminous and iron contents required in the
manufacture of cement.
5. It is also reported that laterite is capable of
removal of phosphorus from solutions and
percolating columns of laterite remove cadmium,
chromium and lead to very low concentrations.

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WEATHERING AND DECAY
•Decays are identified and classified based on the cause and nature of decay into four categories, namely physical
disintegration, biological attack, deterioration due to salt attack and human intervention (Fitzner and Heinrichs 2004,
Smith and Curran 2003).
•The representative weathering forms of each category are described below. These decay forms are typical of several
monuments.
1. Loss of material
• Physical damages caused due to lashing rain, wetting and drying cycles and thermal changes.
• Loss of cohesion of minerals causes granular disintegration and surface loss of material.
• Disintegration of laterite mainly in exposed areas of basement was mainly due to the growth of salt crystals.
• The soft clayey part within the matrix is washed off by means of rain and wind resulting in honey combing.

Honeycombing due to rains. Granular disintegration.

SOURCE: Weathering Forms and Properties of Laterite Building Stones Used SOURCE: Laterite Monuments of Malabar region, Western India by Dr
in Historic Monuments of Western India by A.K. Kasthurba Kasthurba A K

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2. Bio-degradation
• Damp surface of laterite attracts dust, dirt, insects, termites and other microorganisms. If this is uncontrolled it gives
rise to higher plants and trees.
• The acidic secretion produced by lichens induces a bio-corrosion in stones. The surface is rendered damp and soft.
Causes unsightly appearance and results in progressive damage.
• Laterite, unlike other stones, is weak and porous and serves as a good background for vegetation. Trees grow fast on
laterite. Rough surface texture and clay filled cavities allow easy propagation of roots. If plant growth is uncontrolled,
it causes progressive damage leading to collapse of the building as seen in the ruins of St. Augustines tower, Old Goa.

(NOTE: All images are credits of the author otherwise mentioned)

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3. Salt crystallization
• Formation of efflorescence on exposed surfaces of structure causing unsightly appearance.
• Formations of salt crystals below the exposed surface result in blistering and scaling of outer layers. Salts seeps into
the building by capillary action of ground water. Salts are deposited within the structure (in basement portions) near
the exposed surfaces resulting in granular disintegration

4. Human Interventions
• Improper repair to laterite structure can damage the structure like repair of soft laterite using a hard cement mortar.
Cement mortar creates a hard rigid boundary around the material.
• The expansion and shrinkage of the material due to thermal variation cycles within the hard rigid boundary leads to
formation of cracks and disintegration of material. Neglect and vandalism are other forms of damage induced by
human intervention.

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 EXAMPLES
1. Ruins of St. Augustine Monastery, Old Goa:

•The church was built on top of the Monte Santo

(Holy Hill), between 1597 and 1602 by Augustinian
friars who landed in Goa in 1587. The church was
considered as one of the three great Augustinian
churches in the Iberian world along with El
Escorial and the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.
•The church was abandoned in 1835 after the
Portuguese government of Goa began evicting
many religious orders in Goa under its new
repressive policies. The subsequent neglect caused
the vault of the church to collapse in 1842. The
body collapsed soon. SOURCE: Lee-Warner Collection: 'Bombay Presidency', CREDITS : Satyajeet C
•In 1931, the facade of the church and half the taken by D'Souza and Paul in the 1880s
tower collapsed and by 1938, most of the other
parts had also collapsed. Currently only half the
tower remains.
•The church had four towers of which only one
remains. The remaining tower is a four-storied
structure built of laterite and 46 m in height.
Excavations show that the complex had eight
chapels, four altars and a convent.

SOURCE : "Imagining the grandeur of St Augustine Church". The

Navhind Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017

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Apse Vaults in laterite and Ruins of the 2 cloister which was a gallery overlooking the Stepped foundation of one of the
stuccoed plaster courtyard walls in laterite

View overlooking the 2 cloister from 1 cloister View of the main tower from cloister View of the main tower
(NOTE: All images are credits of the author otherwise mentioned)

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2. Reis Magos(Three wise men) Fort :

•The Reis Magos Fort is located in a small village called Reis

Magos in the northern banks of the river Bardez, in the Indian
state Goa.
•The architecture of the fort has the fusion of the Hindu and
Portuguese style of architecture since it was designed several
times under the rule of Portuguese and Marathas among others.
•The Reis Magos Fort was bounded with laterite walls in the
entire exterior.
•From its origin as a defense fortress, to being used as a jail and SOURCE: Sketch by unknown portuguese traveller displayed at the Reis
magos gallery retrieved from Archives of Portugal.
then a hospital, the fort has served the state since 1493.
•It was abandoned in 1993 and started showing signs of neglect
and deterioration.

Aerial view of the fort

SOURCE: (http://www.reismagosfort.com/architecture/) CREDITS : INTACH
(Goa Chapter) and A.S.I.

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 Main entrance to the fort Fortification walls Steps leading towards Gallery

Cells below the Bastions Steps leading down towards Bastions Overview of the entire citadel
(NOTE: All images are credits of the author otherwise mentioned)

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