About Natural Stone

ABOUT NATURAL STONE
What are the different kinds of natural stone?
What are the different kinds of natural stone?

The most important difference is this – Natural Stone is a product of nature, and Ceramics are man-made. Most man-made materials cannot compare in durability to natural ones. While damaged ceramic tiles usually need replacing, natural stone usually needs minimal restoration if stained or scratched. Other differences are explained below:

CERAMIC
  • Homogenous composition
  • Low absorbency, thin and lightweight, corrugated backing
  • Acid resistant
  • Have only one plain finish and practically no edge finishes.
  • The sizes in ceramics are restricted and patterns are very uniform and geometric.
NATURAL STONE
  • Unique composition
  • Differs from category to category
  • Acid sensitivity varies from stone to stone.
  • Have a whole spectrum of finishes like Polished, Honed, Antiquated, Tumbled, Leather, Rugged (Split face, River Rough, River Wash, Flamed) and more. Different types of edges like beveled, bull-nosed etc. are possible.
  • No size restriction. Available in huge slabs as large as 125' X 75' or in small tumbled mosaic pieces of 1"x 1". Natural, random patterns are found in Natural Stones.
Application
Cost of Stone
Machine Cut v/s Natural Cleft

Natural stones is cleft out of blocks to form tiles. When it is cleft by machine or saw, it is Machine cut because a uniform thickness is formed. Natural Cleft stone is hand-cleft and its thickness may vary up to 5/8 of an inch.

USABILITY

The application should be consistent with the type of finish selected. A rough finish such as flamed would be a poor choice for countertops, due to the difficulty in cleaning it. Clefted material should not be used for tabletops, because it would present an uneven surface.

Stone Color
Stone Availability
Care and Maintenance