Stone Concepts Materials Portfolio: Limestone and Granite

At Stone Concepts, we use a wide variety of different materials for an equally-wide range of different construction applications. All of the materials we use are sourced directly from our trusted network of suppliers based all over the world. This edition of our blog looks in more detail at two of these materials: limestone and granite.

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock, which means it is formed by the accumulation of tiny particles which sink to the floors of the world's oceans; in the case of limestone, these particles are the skeletal remains of marine organisms such as molluscs and corals.  Durable, readily available and easy to carve or cut into blocks, limestone has been used for thousands of years as a building material.

Many world-famous landmarks, perhaps most notably the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt, are made using limestone. The ancient people of the Mayan civilisation made use of limestone to carve fine and intricate sculptures, as well as using the material for lintels to decorate the ceilings of their sacred buildings. It is not only ancient structures that utilise limestone: Kingston, a city in Canada, has so many limestone buildings that is commonly referred to as 'Limestone City'!

As well as being used as a long-lasting, exposure-resistant building material, limestone has many other uses across the spectrum of industry. These include soil conditioning, a chemical feedstock for the production of lime and as a filler or pigment for a diverse range of products from toothpaste to paint.

Granite

Granite is an igneous rock, which means that it is formed from solidified lava or magma ejected by volcanoes. The material is crystalline and has a coarse-grained structure; indeed, the word 'granite' comes from the Latin 'granum', meaning 'a grain'. Strong, robust and with a high compressive strength and low-permeability, granite has been a widespread construction material throughout human history.

Granite was especially favoured by the ancient Egyptian civilisation, who used it to create such structures as the Red Pyramid and for the beautiful relief engravings on the 'Cleopatra's Needle' obelisk. They also used it to create walls, jambs, sills, columns and door lintels, as well as for floor veneers.

Find out more about these and other materials used by Stone Concepts on our website.