Suitable Stone for Building Facade

A stone for the facade of a building should be chosen according to the weather conditions of the building’s environment. Using of building stone in the facade of a building has many advantages. Among other things, façade stone gives a special grandeur and glory to a building. Availability, compatibility with the environment, natural and nature-inspired colors, resistance to fire, cold, heat and long durability are among the natural stone advantages. Of course, the usage of stone in the facade of a building has some points that can increase the durability and beauty of the building and reduce the costs of repair and reconstruction.

The first point which you should consider when you want to purchase it, is that stone is a mineral substance and it is extracted from the heart of the nature, and you shouldn’t expect it to have uniform and monochrome texture like ceramics, tiles or etc. Stones are the sign of the beauty hidden in the heart of nature. And, if you choose a natural stone, then you accept the mixture of colors and designs in its surface. Most of the building stone buyers get confused when they want to choose a suitable stone and their choices are based on the right and wrong beliefs they heard before. By the way, if you intend to buy stone, you should consider the place you want to install stones in, including:

• Building facade (external)
• Interior design
• Stairs
• Residential interior paving stones
• Commercial building’s paving
• WC
• Kitchen

According to each part of a building, a suitable stone should be chosen for.

Façade stone

The facade stone of a building must have high resistance to UV rays of sunlight, heat, humidity and cold. Among the types of building stones, travertine, granite, sandstone and crystal stones are suitable for the exterior design of the building, according to the cost, availability and your taste, you can choose from the stones above. Travertine stones have almost high resistance to cold, heat and UV rays compared to other stones. Acid rain in big cities has a great impact on choosing the suitable facade stone. Therefore, when you want to choose it, you should pay attention to the factors such as stone’s polish, thickness, degree of porosity and etc. Against travertines, marbles which are sedimentary stones, are not recommended for building facades due to their porosity. Of course, nowadays, this problem has been solved by using nano technology methods or different stone finishings. In recent years, the use of travertine stone has increased significantly compared to the past. The reason for this general popularity can be considered the advancement of stone cutting machines and equipment, including resin and polish which are applied to the surface of the stone and give a more beautiful and uniform appearance to the stone. The problem with this method is the durability of the resin applied to the surface of the stone, which is almost equivalent to 20 years, and after this period, the stone may no longer have its former beauty. Among the features that have led to the popularity of travertine stone for facade, we can mention its great variety in design and color and its low price compared to other stones. Travertine is inherently a porous stone. And, this feature has effected good adhesion with mortar during installation. The use of travertine stone is about several hundred years ago. For example, the use of travertine stone can be seen in the remaining Roman facades from several hundred years ago. The different temperature of day and night and climate changes during different seasons can cause the result of the expansion and contraction of the stone. So, in this situation the possibility of stone breakage will be increased. And, if it is installed with cement mortar, it will be removed easily. Furthermore, there are different methods which by using them you can prevent stones from falling or removing.

According to the above, travertine stone is one of the best options compared to other stones. One of the other available stones for using in the facade of the building is crystal stone. Crystal stone is a good choice for facade and outdoor spaces. Resistance of crystal stone to heat, cold and climate changes is relatively good, crystal stone can compete with travertine and granite in this field.

Notes that you must notice when you want to install the stone of the building façade:

• The stone should be selected according to the climatic conditions of the region
• To connect stones, the best method is to use a stone scoop
• The windows of the same size on the floors should be completely in the same direction