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STONES: Intro...
STONE:
Rocks are made up of organic matter & minerals like quarts, feldspar, mica,
dolomite etc
In places where good building stone us naturally found, it is used as a traditional
building material. The conditions which govern the selection of stone for
structural purposes are COST, FASHION, ORNAMENTAL VALUE &
DURABILITY.
Some of the factors that have discouraged the use of stone as a building
material are the ARRIVAL OF RCC, DIFFICULTY IN TRANSPORTATION,
COST AND TIME INVOLVED IN DRESSING OF STONE, DIFFICULTY IN
HANDLING, HIGH COSTS.
Most important structures across the world have been built out of stone
Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, and the great wall of China.
STONE is still the preferred as a structural or cladding material in the building of
places of worship, places of assembly and some government buildings.

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Geological Classification
of Rocks
There are three main types of rocks based on
Geological classification:
1.

Igneous - formed when molten rock cools.

2.

Sedimentary formed by the cementing together

of small grains of sediment.

3.

Metamorphic rocks changed by the effect of heat

and pressure.

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Igneous Rocks
- Other names: Primary, Unstratified or Eruptive rock
- Nature: STRONG AND DURABLE. Used in many ancient south Indian temples.
- The silicates in the inner layers of the earth, melt owing to high temperatures
and form magma.
- When magma erupts, spreads over the surface and then cools, it solidifies into
what are known as effusive/ volcanic rocks. Eg. Basalt, Trap
- If the magma solidifies far below the earths surface itself into solid crystalline
rock, it is termed as deep- seated plutonic rock. Eg. Granite, Diorite
- If the magma solidifies at a relatively shallow depth, the resultant rock
possesses a finely crystalline structure termed as hypabyssal. Eg. Quartz, Dolerite

Igneous Rocks

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Igneous Rocks - Examples

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks are rocks formed when particles of sediment build
up and are cemented together by the effect of pressure and minerals.

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Sedimentary Rocks
- Other names: Secondary, Stratified or Acqueous rock
- Pre-existing rocks disintegrate by the actions of weathering agencies like wind,
running water, glaciers etc. These are then washed away by rain, get deposited
on river beds and ocean bottoms, and get consolidated/ cemented together
under pressure and mineral action to form sedimentary rocks.

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are formed by the effect of heat and pressure on existing rocks.
This can greatly affect the hardness, texture or layer patterns of the existing
rocks (Igneous/ Sedimentary/ Metamorphic).

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Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
-

Igneous or Sedimentary rocks which have changed due to either pressure or

heat or both.

(a) Sandstone into quartzite

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Metamorphic Rocks
-

Igneous or Sedimentary rocks which have changed due to either pressure or

heat or both.

(b) Limestone into marble

Metamorphic Rocks
-

Igneous or Sedimentary rocks which have changed due to either pressure or

heat or both.

(c)

Shale into slate

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Metamorphic Rocks
-

Igneous or Sedimentary rocks which have changed due to either pressure or

heat or both.

(d) Granite into gneiss

Classification based on:

Physical Characteristics
STRATIFIED ROCKS
- show distinct layers along which the rocks can be split.
Eg: Sandstone, limestone, shale, slate, marble etc.

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Classification based on:

Physical Characteristics
UNSTRATIFIED ROCKS
- do not show any stratification and cannot be easily split into thin layers.
Eg: Granite, basalt, trap

Classification based on:

Physical Characteristics
FOLIATED ROCKS
- have a tendency to split up only in a
definite direction. The direction need
not be parallel to each other.
Eg: Gneiss, slate

NON - FOLIATED ROCKS

- Have a granulose structure and do
not have a banded or layered
appearance.Eg: quartzite and marble

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Classification of Rocks:
Chemical Characteristics
1. Argillaceous: The principal constituent is Clay (Al 2O 3 )
The Rocks are hard and brittle. Eg: slate, laterite etc.
2. Silicious: The principal constituent is Silica (SiO 2 )
The rocks are very hard and durable. Eg: granite, basalt, trap, quartzite,etc
3. Calcarious: The principal constituent is lime.
Eg: Limestone, marble, dolomite, etc.

Characteristics of
Good Building Stone

APPEARANCE & COLOR Uniform pleasing color with a fine, compact

texture.

STRUCTURE Shall not be dull in appearance, Should be free from cavities,

flaws and patches of loose or soft material. A close and fine grained texture is
good. Stratification should not be visible to naked eye.

WEIGHT Heavier, more dense stones are required for dams & retaining
walls. Light stones are suited for arches & vaults.

STRENGTH & DURABILITY To withstand weathering, a strong and durable

stone is required. Compressive strength of building stones range between 60
200 N/ sq.mm. Compact stones are more durable.

HARDNESS Resistance of the stone to abrasion, friction and wear is

measured on Mohs Hardness scale. It is important for floors & pavements.

TOUGHNESS The ability of a stone to withstand impact, vibrations, moving

and dead loads.

DURABILITY Compact stones are more durable.

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Characteristics of
Good Building Stone

DRESSING Uniform texture and softness for fine surface finish. Important for
face work of public buildings.

POROSITY AND ABSORPTION Exposed surface absorbs rain water which

forms acids causing crumbling action. Less porous stones absorb less fluid hence
are more durable.

SEASONING The stone used for construction should be well seasoned for a
minimum of 6 12 months. Otherwise hardening and weathering may affect the
stone due to evaporation of quarry sap and the formation of crystalline film.

WEATHERING Should withstand rains, frost, wind & all other extremities in
weather.

RESISTANCE TO FIRE Stones free from calcium carbonate or oxides of iron,

and minerals like quartz will show considerable resistance to fire.

WORKABILITY The cutting, sizing and dressing of the stone should be

workable enough to be economical.

COST The cost of quarrying/ transportation/ dressing/ installation should be min.

Quarrying of stone
Quarrying: The process of obtaining stone from natural rock outcrops. Loose
boulders and weathered blocks are not fit for quarrying. The most popular
stones quarried in India are Granite, Marble, Sandstone, Limestone and
Slate.
Locations of quarries in India: Mainly in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh & a few locations in Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, TN, Andaman and
Nicobar islands.
Selection of the site for Quarrying:
1. Availability of sufficient quantity of
stone of desired quality.
2. Proper transportation facilities
3. Cheap local labor
4. Problems associated with drainage
of rain water
5. Nature of adjacent structures
6. Site for dumping refuse.

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Quarrying of stone
Methods of Quarrying:
The method depends on the type of rocks and the purpose for which the stones
are needed.
A.
B.
C.

Quarrying with hand tools

Quarrying by the use of channelling machines and
Quarrying by blasting with explosives

A.

Quarrying With Hand Tools: Traditional method, used for soft stones. They
give well- shaped blocks for masonry construction.

1.

EXCAVATING: Process of removing stones buried under stone or loose

overburden. TOOLS: Pick axes, crow bars, chisels, shovels, hammers
Eg. Laterite

Quarrying of stone
2.

WEDGING: Method used for costly, soft and stratified rocks such as
sandstone, limestone, laterite, marble and slate.

About 10-25 cm deep holes, at 10-15 cm spacing are made vertically into rock
using hand tools or pneumatic drills. Steel wedges or plugs (conical wedges)
and feathers (flat wedges) are inserted in them. The rock slab splits along
the line of least resistance through holes.
In case of soft rocks, dry wooden pegs are hammered in the holes and watered.
The pegs swell and exert pressure causing the rocks to crack along the line
of holes.
Crowbars and rollers used to completely detach and take out the slab.
Wastage is minimum and slabs of desired size and shape are obtained.

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Quarrying of stone
2.

WEDGING:

Quarrying of stone
3.

HEATING: Mostly suited for quarrying small, thin and regular blocks of
stones from rocks, such as granite and gneiss.

A heap of fuel is piled and fired on the surface of rock in small area. The two
consecutive layers separate due to uneven expansion. The loosened rock
portions are broken into desired size and removed with the help of crowbars and pick- axes.

The stone blocks thus

obtained are suitable for
coarse rubble masonry.

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Quarrying of stone
B.

Quarrying by the use of channelling machine:

Done when one of the faces of the solid rock to be quarried has an exposed face.
A channeling machine can cut 50 to 70 mm width channels up to 24 m in
length and 240 to 370 cm in depth. The process consists of the following
steps:
a. Channels are cut along the
three sides of the block to be removed.
b. Horizontal wedges are driven
beneath the block from the exposed face
to break loose the block.
c.
The block is lifted from its bed to be
cut as desired.

Quarrying of stone
C.

Quarrying by BLASTING: Mostly suited for manufacturing stone aggregates

and ballast for the railways. The rock usually breaks up into irregular blocks
and pieces may be used for irregular work like random rubble masonry or
may be further crushed into smaller pieces as desired.

Explosives used:
Gunpowder or Dynamite.
Use of gunpowder produces
Larger blocks of stone,
whereas the power of
dynamite produces smaller
ones. Dynamite is also
4-5 times more expensive.

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Quarrying of stone
Blasting procedure:
a.

Boring: Holes are bored/ drilled into the rock along the lines at required
spacing depending on size of block to be produced. The rock is constantly
watered to soften the rock and facilitate boring. Machine drilling may be done
for hard rocks.

b.

Charging: After ensuring that the holes are completely dried, it is then
charged with explosives at the bottom.

c.

Tamping: A copper priming needle is placed in the hole, and the remaining
portion is filled and tamped in layers using sandy clay. The priming needle is
then withdrawn, and fuse wire is inserted through the hole, into the
gunpowder with the other end projecting out by 60- 90 cm. The free end is
then fired using an electric spark or fire.

In the case of dynamite, a detonator is used and the firing is more controlled.

Dressing of stone
A quarried stone has rough surfaces, which are dressed to obtain a definite and
regular shape. Dressing provides 1. pleasing appearance, 2. proper bedding
and good mortar joints, 3. special shapes for arches, coping, pillars etc.
Dressing is done immediately after quarrying and before seasoning to achieve
less weight for transportation.

Seasoning of stone
A freshly cut stone carries some natural moisture known as quarry sap making it
soft and workable. The quarry sap is a mineral solution and reacts chemically
when the stone is exposed to atmosphere after quarrying. The stone becomes
harder and compact. The process takes about 6 12 months for complete
seasoning. When the quarry sap evaporates it leaves a crystalline film on the
faces of the stone and makes them weather resistant. The dressing before
seasoning improves the weather resistance. As such, the dressing, carving
and moulding, etc. should be done as early after quarrying as possible.

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Dressing of stone
TOOLS:

http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/BuildingConstruction-V2/Stone-CuttingTools.html#.VGDjLzTLdvs

Dressing of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

Tools used: a masons hammer or club hammer and the pitching tool

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Dressing of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

The flat face of a scabbling or spalling hammer is used to knock of the sharp,
irregular corners. The pointed end of the hammer may then be used to dress
the surface.

Quarrying of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

Sharp, irregular corners may be knocked off by using the flat face of a scabbling
hammer. A drafting chisel and a hammer to get a straight edge along the
edges AB, BC, CD and DA. A pitching tool may be used to dress the central
part to give a natural rock-like facing.

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Quarrying of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

The stone from the quarry is first hammer dressed. A plane chisel or a boaster
and a club hammer may then be used to remove the top layer (3 mm), by
parallel bands of tool marks to cover the surface.

Quarrying of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

A punch chisel and club hammer is used to mark the stone surface with a series
of parallel ridges (3mm depth) at close intervals.

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Quarrying of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

A pointed chisel and a club hammer is used to further dress a punched stone by
forming tiny ridges and chisel marks of 3mm depth to obtain a finer surface.

Quarrying of stone
DRESSED STONE SURFACES: TYPES:

A serrated or claw chisel and club hammer may be used to fine tool the stone
from the quarry after a closed picked finish. A fairly smooth surface is
obtained.

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DURABILITY OF STONES
Quarrying and cutting have a great bearing on the weathering properties of stones.
- STONE FROM TOP LEDGES of limestone, granite and slate AND FROM
THE EXPOSED FACES OF THE ROCK BED is likely to be LESS HARD
AND DURABLE.
- HIGHLY ABSORBENT STONE should NOT be quarried in FREEZING
WEATHER since the rock is likely to be split.
The method of blasting and cutting also influences the strength of the stone and its
resistance to freezing and temperature changes:
- SMALL, UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED CHARGE OF BLASTING POWDER
has a LESSER WEAKENING EFFECT than large concentration of
explosives.
A POROUS STONE IS LESS DURABLE than a dense one
REPEATED HAMMERING in cutting is likely to INJURE THE STONE.

DURABILITY OF STONES
POLISHED STONE IS MORE DURABLE than rough surfaced work, since the rain
slides off the former more easily.
STONES FROM STRATIFIED ROCKS SHOULD BE PLACED ALONG THE
NATURAL BED in order to secure MAXIMUM WEATHERING RESISTANCE
PYRITE, MAGNETITE AND IRON CARBONATE OXIDIZE IN WEATHERING and
cause DISCOLORATION OF THE STONE in which they are present. Since
oxidation is accompanied by a CHANGE IN VOLUME, the surrounding
STRUCTURE IS WEAKENED.

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