Why Use Natural Stone In Your House
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Why natural stone? For a number of solid, natural reasons.
Natural stone is strong and stable to live with. It exudes a rich, organic, beautiful surface and has a confident, timeless “presence” in any room. Go ahead -- rub your hand across any natural stone product. Can you feel the eons of time it took to produce this natural wonder of Mother Earth? It’s a fact. The formative process for natural stone began millions of years ago, deep beneath the surface of the earth. A combination of heat and pressure created blocks of natural stone, including granite, marble, travertine, limestone, and slate. As the earth's crust began to grow and erode, it pushed minerals up from its core, forming massive rock deposits, which we refer to as “quarries”. Walk across a natural stone floor and tread on the same material quarried and constructed by ancient people of nobility and notoriety. From ancient monuments like the pyramids in Egypt and the majestic Greek and Roman temples, to the great civilizations of India and China, natural stone has been an important part of architecture throughout history. It is the world’s oldest building material -- imagine its beauty and elegance in your new home or remodeling project. How old? In 2500 B.C., Djoser’s Step Pyramid in Egypt, the first structure to be made entirely of natural stone, was constructed using huge blocks of granite and limestone. Today, natural stone quarries are found in many countries throughout the world such as Italy, China, Spain, India, Canada, Mexico and also here in the United States. Recent advances in the stone industry’s equipment technology have greatly impacted the process of extracting stone from the quarry and installing it in a home. Maybe your home. Indeed, nothing compares to the beauty of natural stone, and nothing can create pride quicker than when you walk into your home with a natural stone floor. Count on “oohs and ahs” from your friends and neighbors, too. And while it is typically more expensive than stone tile, natural stone will virtually always increase your home’s resale value. That’s another important consideration when shopping. Today, there is a large selection of natural stone to choose from, and we will be showing you and explaining about each stone family in detail. Modern tools can accomplish this with such speed and efficiency that now natural stone is accessible to all and is beloved for its durability, personality and aesthetics. In these sections on Natural Stone you can count on learning about granite, the hardest and densest stone, marble, known for its rich, luxurious quality, limestone, a softer, more porous stone, and the popular travertine. As a side note, you should be aware of a product called Manufactured Stone. (Also called Agglomerate Stone.) It’s a synthetic stone product that can be used for flooring and you can learn more about it in the How It’s Made section. |
