Onyx slabs waiting to be cut.
THE WHERE THE WHAT AND
THE HOW OF SELECTING STONE...
Selecting the right stone for your project requires some careful
consideration of the where, the what and the how.
Given the changing political landscape, you may also want to
consider UK quarried stone ahead of imported stone.
Unless they are in stock in the UK you might find your stone at the
back of a very long queue of lorries in Calais.
There are a great many UK sandstones, slates and limestones from
which to choose. Less granites and no marbles, unfortunately. The
Stone Federation of Great Britain represent many quarries through
their quarry forum and have a wealth of knowledge on types and
locations. As does The Stone Specifiers Source Book, also produced
by the Stone Federation.
Marble, granite limestone, slate, basalt, sandstone, quartzite – there
is a vast pallet of natural stones from which to select the right stone
for your project, large or small. Colours are a good starting point, but
you will definitely want to consider how the chosen material is likely
to perform in the location.
For instance, bathrooms need to be beautiful, functional and easy to
maintain. Most Limestone and Marble is formed with a high proportion
of calcium carbonate, which is soluble. It doesn’t mean the stone will
dissolve underwater, but some will be more susceptible to water
staining. If water softeners are being added to filtration systems, it
is worth checking if the contents will affect the stones surface and
increase limescale build-up or contribute to deterioration of the
stone surface.
Stone floors in receptions and kitchens should be hard wearing and
relatively easy to maintain, providing you use the correct cleaning
regime. I know of a stone cleaning company to be found regularly in
the foyers of some of the top hotels in London at 4am in the morning.
Almost silently, machine cleaning the floors to their original condition,
some weekly, some fortnightly, all with excellent results.
There are many occasions where I am asked to visit “problem” floors
to report to the client on the condition and why their floor looks so
poor after a relatively short life span. Invariably, amongst other issues,
the cleaning regime leaves much to be desired. The 4 am cleaning
shift is often a man with a bucket full of dirty water and an old mop.
This only serves to move dirt around the floor rather then remove it.
Use pH neutral cleaners and make sure they are suitable for stone.
Clean regularly and aim to have surfaces professionally cleaned at
least every 18 months. Removing dirt and any limescale build-up will
keep the stone fresh and prevent long term damage.
Sealing stone is not really sealing. It is not like a varnish for wood. The
real name is impregnator. These come in two types – water based or
solvent based. The solvent based impregnators last longer but are less
environmentally friendly. The impregnator sits below the surface and
should prevent deep staining. You still need to wipe spillages off the
surface as quickly as possible – particularly wine and acidic liquids –
but it does help to provide a barrier against deep staining.
Other than cleaning, give careful consideration to the type of stone
and where it is being used. There are a couple of key areas to
investigate for your chosen stone.