How Natural Stone Is Made

The Origin of Natural Stone

The production of natural stone for natural stone flooring is complex. It is part art and part science. It would be nice if it was as easy as extracting a stone from the earth, slicing off a piece, and bringing it into a home. Stone floors would certainly be much cheaper and more plentiful. But it's not that easy. Technology, industry, tradition and inspiration converge to create the world's oldest type of flooring.

We have developed this article for you so you can get an in depth view of the origins of your stone floor. There is no floor that can emulate the timelessness, complexity, and simplicity of a natural stone floor. So step right in and enjoy some history on the origins of your natural stone floor.

The Birth of Natural Stone

Natural stone has been bubbling with growth for millions of years inside the earth. Stones are created by nature at the bottom of vast ocean floors, inside towering volcanoes, and under the earth's many layers. It is from under the earth's layers that quarries find their way to present themselves to us.

Heat and pressure that has been cooking for millions of years has created (and is probably still creating) blocks of stone. The earth's crust grew, erosion made its way in, and the earth pushed the stone-making minerals and hot liquid rock up from the core just like it was having a baby. Once the stone-making minerals and hot liquid stone entered the earth's atmosphere, they began to cool and turn to rock. Massive rock deposits are called “quarries.”

We can now find quarries of marble, travertine, limestone, and slate.

Quarries, the Incubators of Natural Stone

Quarries are found throughout the world. North America has quarries in Canada, Mexico and the United States. There are also quarries in China, Indian and in Spain.

True artisans work at the quarries with precision and passion. They have developed an eye for expert selection and work with skilled hands, often carrying down their trade for generations.

Science and technology have enabled the industry to make great strides to improve the extraction process. Diamonds are not only a girl's best friend, they are an extractor's best friend as well. Modern tools use diamond studded equipment to cut through stone at speeds previously undiscovered, creating a fast efficient method of extraction. A diamond wire cutting system turned the demanding manual extraction process into a modern-day manufacturing process.

Once blocks of stone are removed from the quarry, they head over to a processing plant. At the processing plant they are cut into slabs using high-speed gang saws. A gang saw has several blades, and is about 12 to 15 feet long. It cuts into the stone with simultaneous parallel cuts. Water helps cool the hot spinning blades and controls the dust. A 20-ton black of stone can be cut in 2 days with a fast, efficient gang saw.

After the slabs are made at the processing plant, it's time to polish and calibrate.

The slabs go to a polishing machine. They will be put through, and the machine will put the required finish on the slab. The polishing uses spindles that turn the polishing pads at high speeds on top of the stone.

These machines can produce different finishes, ranging from a smooth, mirrored polish to a rough and tough tumbled texture. The polished finishes are one of the enticing options to choose from when you install a natural stone floor.

At this time, the slab is calibrated. To “calibrate a slab” simply means the stone's surface is worked down to a consistent thickness across the length of the stone.

After calibration comes fabrication. The cut, finished and calibrated stone is sent to a fabricator. This is where it gets customized.

The fabricator shapes the edges of the stone and polishes them as well. Diamond-studded, water-cooled small saws are used to cut and shape the edges of the stone to the desired specifications.

If the slab was sent to the fabricator to be cut for tiles, the slab is cut down into standard sizes, such as 12” x 12”, 16” x 16”, 18” x 18” or even small mosaics.

After the stones are cut, a very precise tool polishes the tiles after they've been cut.

Then it's time for packaging. Tiles are stored vertically, and one package is never stacked on top of another. Once they are packaged, they are shipped out to wait for someone like you to use them for their new stone floor.

And that is the story of the origins of a natural stone floor. You can begin to imagine the time and complexity that goes into creating each stone.

Keep in mind that not all stones are natural. What follows is some information on manufactured stone.

Manufactured Stones

Manufactured stones fall into two categories. Engineered Stone and Agglomerate Stone. Agglomerate stone is a compound made with calcium chips and quartz that is bound with cement, epoxy or polyester resins. Engineered stone has agglomerate stone in it, as well as quartz silicate and its own epoxy or polyester resins.

Quartz manufactured stones are the most popular type. Quartz gives stone a strength and consistency, as well as giving the stone some depth and radiance. It looks like a natural stone, but it is traditionally lower priced.

You can find manufactured stone in a multitude of colors. Earthy neutrals, energizing reds, and exciting bright colors are just a sample of colors that can be found on manufactured stones.

Manufactured stone is not completely scratch proof, but it does have scratch resistant properties. Manufactured stone also has a high resistance to staining because its non-porous. It also doesn't require sealing. To make manufactured stone an even more enticing choice, manufactures have made it virtually maintenance free and with hygienic properties. It's also safe to use in almost any room.

Manufactured stone is four times stronger than granite, based on flexural strength. This means that your manufactured stone floor will suffer from less chipping and cracking than a granite floor.

Natural stones and manufactured stones each have their enticing advantages. If you'd like to learn more about natural stone floors or manufactured stone floors, browse through some more articles on your website. If you'd like some expert advice, just stop down at one of our Chicago area showrooms and we'll be glad to tell you everything we know about natural stone flooring and manufactured stone applications.