Metamorphic rocks:

Metamorphic rocks are formed when sedimentary rocks are subjected to high temperature and
pressure causing physical or chemical change. Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the
Earth's crust and are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage.

Kinds of Metamorphic rocks:

Geological materials used in

construction:

Building stone:
stone has been used as a construction material for thousands of years. One of the
reasons for this was its ready availability locally. Furthermore, stone requires little
energy for extraction and processing.

Types of stones:
Building stone, also called dimension stone, derives from one of three naturally occurring rock
types:
Igneous: best example granite (used for building walls)
Sedimentary: sandstone and limestone.(for building walls)
Metamorphic: marble and slate.(for roofing and flooring)

Uses of Stones:
1. The stones are used for foundations, walls, columns, lintels, roofs and floor etc.
2. The stones are adopted to give massive appearance to the structure. The walls are of
bricks and facing is done in stones of desired shades.
3. They are used to form paving of roads, footpaths and floor of buildings.
4. Ballast for railways, Blocks in construction of bridges, piers, abutments, retaining walls,
light houses, dams etc.

Characteristics of stones:
Appearance:
For the face work it should have fine, compact, texture and light coloured.

Structure:
A broken stone should not be dull in appearance and should have uniform texture free
from cavities, crakes and patches.

Strength:
A stone should be strong and durable to withstand the disintegrating action of weather.

Weight:
For dams, retaining walls heavier stones and for arches, vaults lighter stones are
suitable.

Porosity:
A good building stone should be less porous .More porous stones are not suitable for
construction.

Roofing and Facing Materials:

Rocks used for roofing purposes must possess a sufficient degree of fissility to
allow them to split into thin slabs, in addition to being durable and impermeable.
Consequently, slate is one of the best roofing materials available and has been
used extensively. Today tiles are being used for roofing, these being cheaper
than stone, which has to be quarried and cut to size.

Armourstone:
Armourstone refers to large blocks of rock that are used to protect civil
engineering structures. Large blocks of rock, which may be single-size or, more
frequently, widely graded are used to protect the upstream face of dams against
wave action. They are also used in the construction of river training schemes, in
river bank and bed protection and stabilization.