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| Introduction to Natural stone The crushing strength of most granite is any where from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds per square inch. Most granite has hardness reading on the Moh’s scale of 5 to 7, dissected the quartz has a reading of 7 Feldspar has a reading of 6 and Mica has a reading of 2.5. The Moh’s scale was created by a German mineralogist back in 1812 to determine the hardness of a stone. He created a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the hardest. Diamonds has a reading of 10, Ruby’s a 9 and Emerald’s a reading of 8. The test is conducted by the scratch ability of a stone.GRANITE – Igneous stone (feldspar, mica, and quartz) Moh’s scale 5 – 7 Granites come in either bedrock, boulder or in rare occasions a dyke formation. Basically there are two types of granites. The traditional granites like Baltic Brown and New Imperial Red is called Magmatic Rocks formed from contact metamorphism. Formed from crystallization of molten stone (magma), the faster the magma cools the finer the grain structure of the stone becomes. The second type is called Metamorphic Rocks from regional heat and pressure changing the structure of the protolith (parent rock) some of which are called “Gneiss” like, Paradiso Dark, (Migmatites), Giallo Veneziano (Orthogneiss), Santa Cecilia (Garnet Gneiss) and all the Juparana’s. LIMESTONES – Sedimentary stone (Calcium Carbonate, Calcite, Magnesium, Dolomite, Silica, Pyrite, Iron Oxide and clay) Moh’s scale 2 – 5 Formed on shallow sea beds from monsoonal rains washing minerals, plants and animals into the sea. Sometimes you will see schools of fish remains imbedded in the limestone because the waters became too contaminated form the soot and minerals making it impossible for the fish to breath. MARBLE – Metamorphic (Calcite, Dolomite, Quartz and other accessory minerals) like Hematite, Lemonite and Serpentine. Moh’s scale 3 – 5 Limestone is a younger form of marble. Limestones and travertines that can be polished are commercially classified as “Marble” such as Crema Marfil. True marble is white in color.ONYX – Sedimentary stone (Calcite or Aragonite). Moh’s scale 3 Onyx is usually translucent and layered. It is formed in caves as Stalactites and Stalagmites by the slow precipitation of cold mineral rich waters. QUARTZITE – Metamorphic Stone (Quartz) Moh’s scale 4 – 7 The compact, granular rock is a form of metamorphosed sandstone in which silica, or quartz, has been deposited between the grains of quartz of which the sandstone is essentially composed. TRAVERTINE – Sedimentary stone (Calcite Calcium Carbonate) Moh’s scale 3 Travertine’s were formed in hot springs, similar to Limestone’s but the cavities separate these two stones apart. The holes, characteristic of travertine were created when carbon dioxide bubbles were trapped as the stone was being formed.
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