Decorate Your Home: Types and Uses of Natural Stones in India.
Since time immemorial, Indians have used sophisticated construction techniques. Our oldest civilizations bear witness to this. Natural stones have always found a way in the construction of Indian residences, owing to the abundance of natural elements present across this wonderful nation. Indians appreciate the rustic aspect and aesthetics that natural stones bring to their homes, as well as the longevity and durability that they provide.
You’d be surprised at the variety of natural stones quarried and exported from India. Every year, the Indian natural stone market is estimated to be worth $300 million. Natural stones are utilized in a variety of industries, ranging from home construction to chemical factories, and more, thanks to quality vendors such as Decor Luxury Handicraft Art, a reputed natural stone supplier in India.
Let us have a look at the top 10 natural stones available in India and their primary applications in building constructions:
1. Marble Stone
It is a metamorphic rock that may be cut and carved into a variety of shapes. It is used for purely aesthetic reasons, stone facing slabs, flooring, and facing works, among other things. Marble has compressive strengths ranging from 70MPa to 75MPa. Marble stones are quite strong, have a homogeneous texture, are not porous, and polish well. It is easily cut and sculpted into various shapes. Marble comes in a variety of colors, including white and pink.
Marble is softer than granite, but it is strong and long-lasting in commercial applications. They are versatile and may be tailored for both interior and exterior use.
Decor Luxury Handicraft Art is the largest natural stone supplier in India for Makarana Marble, Rajnagar Marble, Andhi Marble, Salumber Marble, Ambaji White Marble, Indian Green Marble, and many such marble stone range.
2. Granite Stone
It’s a deep-seated igneous rock that’s hard, long-lasting, and comes in a variety of colors. It has a strong crushing strength and can withstand prolonged exposure to the elements. Granite has a crystalline structure with fine to coarse grain. It’s tough and long-lasting, with compression strengths ranging from 100 to 250 MPa. It also has a low absorption value, low porosity, strong frost and weathering resistance, but poor fire resistance. It takes polish well and comes in a variety of colors ranging from light grey to pink. The polished granite can be used for table tops, column cladding, and wall cladding.
We, as the leading natural stone supplier in India, supply Granite stone for usage in bridge components, retaining walls, stone columns, road metal, railway ballast, foundation, stonework, and coarse aggregates in concrete. These stones can also be cut and polished into slabs for usage as floor slabs and stone facing slabs.
3. Basalt & Trap
They are quite similar to granite and are created from igneous rocks by the rapid cooling of magma in the absence of pressure. The basalt stone structure is compact, and medium to fine grained. This stone’s compressive strength ranges from 200MPa to 350MPa, and its weight ranges from 18KN/m3 to 29KN/m3.
Basalt is weather resistant, moisture resistant, extremely hard, and difficult to fashion into fine shapes. Basalt’s color ranges from dark grey to black. They’re often utilized in road building, as concrete aggregate, and rubble masonry for bridge piers, river walls, and dams.
If you are looking for the best natural stone supplier in India to procure high quality Basalt, give us a call or just message us on Whatsapp.
4. Sandstone
Another type of sedimentary rock created by the action of mechanical sediments is Sandstone. It has a sand-like structure that is light and easy to dress. The compressive strength ranges from 20 to 170 MPa, with a specific gravity of 1.85 to 2.7.
For construction of massive structures, sandstone is combined with silica cement. It’s used in masonry, dams, bridge piers, and river barriers, among other things. It comes in a variety of colors, including white, grey, red, buff, brown, yellow, and dark grey, and is made up of quartz and feldspar. Indian sandstone is quite sturdy and is used in exterior paving. It should be noted that sandstone is inappropriate for building construction due to deterioration.
5. Slate
Slate is a metamorphic rock that is easily fragmented and is primarily black in color. Slate’s compressive strength varies between 100 and 200 MPa, and its color ranges from dark grey to greenish grey to purple grey to black. Slate has a fine-grained structure with a specific gravity of 2.6 to 2.7.
The building capabilities of slate vary greatly depending on the thickness of the sheets and the color of the rock. Roofing tiles, slabs, and pavements are all made of it. Quartz, mica, and clay minerals make up this mixture. As one of the top natural stone supplier in India, we find that Slate has great applications in damp-proofing of floors and roofs.
6. Limestone
Limestone is made up of seaweed and living organisms that have been solidified and cemented together, giving it a high calcium carbonate content. There are several distinct types of limestone, but not all of them are ideal for building construction because the majority of them are clay-rich or extremely soft. A few solid, compact, and fine-textured types, however, that are free of voids and fissures, can be effectively dressed and polished.
Being the prominent natural stone supplier in India, we supply high quality limestone that is commonly used for flooring, roofing, pavements, and as a cement base material. Limestone should not be used as a face stone in areas where the air is polluted with industrial pollutants, or in coastal areas where salty breezes can cause damage.
7. Laterite
Laterite is a type of degraded igneous rock that comes in soft and hard variants. It has a high iron oxide content and may be easily cut into blocks. Laterite has a compressive strength of 1.9 to 2.3 MPa, and its strength increases with seasoning.
Laterite can be used as a building stone; however, it must be plastered on the outside. Brownish, red, yellow, brown, and grey are common colors. After curing, the soft blocks are used for walls, while the hard blocks are used to pave paths. It is useful for artistic projects such as sculptures, water fountains, and other landscaping components due to its porous and spongy nature.
8. Gneiss
Gneiss is found mostly in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, and is distinguished by its elongated platy minerals, which are generally combined with mica. Compression strength ranges between 50 and 200 MPa. It has fine to coarse grains and is utilized in the same way as granite. It comes in a variety of colors, including light grey, pink, purple, greenish grey, and dark grey.
As the presence of harmful elements in its constituents makes it unsuitable for building construction, this sort of stone is only utilized for small scale construction. Because of their frailty, they should only be utilized for flooring and paving. You can find hard gneiss stone variants from natural stone supplier in India, and can be used in construction.
9. Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, fragile, crystalline, and long-lasting metamorphic rock. Because it is difficult to deal with, it is not suggested for ornamental purposes. Quartzite has a fine to coarse grain structure, is largely granular and brittle, and is primarily made of feldspar and mica in minor amounts. Crushing strength ranges from 50 to 300 MPa. They come in a variety of colors, including white, grey, and yellowish. It can be used to make building blocks, slabs, and concrete aggregate.
10. Travertine
Travertine is a type of limestone found in India’s hot mineral springs. It is far more durable and lasts longer than marble. With its individual patterns and colors, it is as lovely as marble.
The surface of the stone has pitted pits and troughs, indicating that it has a porous surface and a concentric structure. It has a specific gravity of 1.68 and compressive strengths of 80 to 120 MPa. It comes in a number of colors, from grey to coral-red, and can be polished to a smooth, lustrous finish. Paving, garden walks, and courtyards are all examples of its uses. Swimming pool decks and patios are two frequent use for this stone.
To Conclude
Natural stones are used in a variety of construction projects, including both residential and commercial structures. The stones used in concrete structures should be strong, resilient, and robust, with no weathering of material, fissures, or other faults that would impair their strength and endurance.
That is why you should get your natural stone from reputable companies like Decor Luxury Handicraft Art, best natural stone supplier in India. If you are currently planning your dream home or any commercial construction, please contact us by phone, email, or Whatsapp so that our sales team can assist you in obtaining cost-effective natural stones for your project.
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