A Complete Guide to Buying Building Stones

Table of Contents

Factors Influencing the Selection of the Right Building Stone

Iran stands out among all countries in the world in terms of building stone resources and ranks first globally for its variety of stone types and colors. With such a vast selection, finding the best option initially seems quite difficult, as buyers who fail to exercise sufficient care during the purchase can encounter issues down the line.

Building stones come in various types that differ in aesthetics, strength, and polishability levels. Travertine, marble (مرمریت), crystal stone, onyx (مرمر), and granite are among the stones abundantly extracted from Iranian quarries and utilized for both interior and exterior applications. Travertine is the top choice for building exterior facades due to its high aesthetic appeal and strong adhesion capacity; its higher price is completely justified given its characteristics. Marble (مرمریت) is more commonly used for interior applications. Granite is utilized for harsher environments due to the igneous nature embedded within its particles. Crystal stone has regained popularity today due to its high strength, low water absorption, and light color. Onyx is used for special and luxurious environments, such as hotel lobbies, restaurants, and commercial units. The reason onyx is used in special projects is its high cost.

Factors Influencing the Selection of the Right Building Stone

Different building stones are priced variously based on their specific features. Determining which type of building stone is suitable for your project will depend carefully on the following factors:

- The location where the stone will be applied (interior or default, unit flooring, elevator, parking, etc.)

- The budget allocated for purchasing the building stone

- The location of the construction project (neighborhood and city where the project is situated)

- The type of project (commercial, administrative, industrial, residential, or recreational)

- General preference

The city and neighborhood of the project are also of great importance. Ultimately, construction projects must yield profits to sustain the developer's operations. Therefore, using expensive stones for neighborhoods lacking the market potential is not customary.

The type of project is exceptionally crucial. Whether a project is residential or industrial completely changes the atmosphere; softness is prioritized in residential buildings, while strength is key in industrial projects. In commercial projects and hotels, extraordinary emphasis is placed on elegance and luxury.

Applications of Various Stones

Exterior Facade Stone (Exterior facade stone must be resistant to heat, cold, sunlight, and adverse weather conditions.)

Interior Flooring (Interior flooring is chosen based on the building’s usage—commercial, administrative, residential, educational, or healthcare. Interior flooring must possess high compressive and abrasion resistance along with low water absorption rates.)

Exterior Flooring (Exterior flooring must withstand heat and cold and feature good compressive strength.)

Kitchen Countertop and Island Stone (Countertop and island stones must exhibit low absorption rates and high compressive strength.)

What Makes a Good Stone?

- Facade stones (interior and exterior) must be free of cracks, fissures, fractures, weak veins, decay, and excessive pores.

- A good stone is one that does not absorb excessive water and offers high endurance against natural and chemical environments as well as abrasion.

- Most building stone buyers purchase solely based on others' recommendations and surface appearance, often ending up dissatisfied with their purchase. If buyers are looking for a completely uniform product devoid of natural texture and color variation, they should not look for stone, as stone is inherently a product with natural texture and color.

- The easiest way to identify a good stone is that a crack-free stone should emit a sound resembling glass when struck. To test this, tap the stone a few times with a metallic object. If it produces a clear, ringing glass-like sound, the stone is free of cracks, decay, and flaws.

- Considering Iran's diverse climatic and weather conditions, we witness various facade styles such as glass facades, composite facades, wooden facades, and stone facades. Stone facades have been the most widely used material for embellishing building exteriors from the past to the present day, gaining popularity due to the unmatched variety they offer compared to other materials. Common building stone examples frequently utilized in construction and facade work include travertine, granite, sandstone, crystal stone facades, and decorative brick facades.

Categories of Building Stones Include:

Crystal Stone

Usually featuring a white to gray color spectrum with high resistance to environmental factors, low absorption, and acceptable polishability—all factors that have attracted many fans in recent years. Well-known varieties include Qorveh, Azna, Aligudarz, Neyriz, and Sirjan crystal stones. Due to its characteristics, this stone can be used for facades, landscaping, and interior environments alike.

Travertine

Travertine, which itself includes various species, has extensive applications in projects, most importantly as facade stone. Travertine is used as a building facade stone due to its high resistance against weather conditions, snow, and rain.

Travertine is used in various sizes in projects, with the primary standard sizes being 40 cm and 60 cm fixed lengths. Of course, with the introduction of slab sizes into the stone industry, slabs have also become one of the frequently used formats. Travertine is one of the most popular and functional building stones in architecture and facade construction. It comes in sedimentary and limestone types and naturally features white, cream, tan, light/dark shades, red, and gray colors. The lighter and whiter the travertine stone, the lower its impurity content and the better its quality.

Types of travertine include Abbasabad travertine, Hajiabad travertine, Atashkuh travertine, walnut travertine, silver travertine, and more.

Marble (مرمریت)

Marble, much like travertine, encompasses various categories of building stones. It is frequently applied as building flooring. Different sizes of marble used for this purpose include:

40x40 cm, 60x60 cm, 70x70 cm, 80x80 cm

Types of marble include Khur marble, Salsali marble, Persian Silk marble, and Golden Black marble.

Onyx (مرمر)

Onyx is a type of building stone utilized in luxury and lavish projects. A key characteristic of onyx is its light-transmitting ability, which has attracted numerous enthusiasts.

Granite and Crystal Stone

Granite and crystal stones are other categories of building stones that can be applied in project areas such as countertops, stone tables, elevator flooring, and more.