How is Natural Stone Flooring Made?

Natural stone is distinguished and unique. Part of the allure of natural stone is its natural properties. How can Mother Nature produce such beautiful veins, textures, colors, and saturation? Natural stone is loved by many for its architectural use inconstruction, floors, cladding, counter tops, curbing, and even sculptures.

You might think that getting natural stone from a quarry to your home’s floor is a fairly simple process. Something like just slice and ship. But, believe it or not, there is a process and art to making natural stone into flooring.

Combining Heat and Pressure, and Time

The earth’s core is constantly moving -- unnoticable to the naked eye the pace of movement is miniscule. This movement allows minerals to surface, formed as massive rock deposits, or quarries. Quarries are found around the globe, from Manitoban limestone to Indian marble. Huge saws are used to "harvest" the stone from the quarries. The slabs are then refined into even smaller slabs or tiles, finished, and sometimes sealed.

How natural stone is made is dependent on the type of stone. Here is a look at some of the most popular types of natural stone flooring and how each are made:

Granite

Popular for bathroom and counter top installation, granite offers dependability and scratch and dent resistance. Granite is a composite of several minerals. Made of quartz, feldspar, and other minerals, granite is formed when liquid magma pushes towards the surface of the earth. Because granite becomes solid deep inside the earth’s surface it is one of the hardest natural stones available -- drawing allure to those that need a durable underfoot for high-traffic rooms.

Marble

Marble develops when sedimentary carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite rock) metamorphasize. The metamorphic process causes the rock to re-crystallize, creating a mosaic of several different rocks (and colors). White marble is the result of pure limestone going through such a metamorphosis, while green marble occurs as the result of serpentine and a high magnesium limestone or dolostone composite. Marble is widely enjoyed for its rainbow of options and can be purchased in hues of white, sandstone, and even veined blue.

Onyx

Often compared to and confused with marble, onyx is developed through a metamorphosis over time by dripping water. Onyx develops its unique, layered look through a crystallization process, which is another reason is it often compared to marble. Onyx is available in a midnight black, white, or colored bands of red (sardonyx).

Slate

Slate is a durable flooring flooring material used to adorn a home or commercial space. Slate is slip-resistant and easy to maintain. Natural slate is formed in rivers and ponds and develops a smooth texture from water constantly moving over it. Slate is available in a range of natural hues, from Persian gold to Morrocan red.

The beauty of natural stone may be imitated through man-made processes but because of the intricacies occurring in nature, natural stone flooring can never be duplicated. If you have other types of natural stone flooring products you are looking for please contact the Discount Flooring team. If you would like to see your product on DiscountFlooring.com contact our team anytime.