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Natural Stone: An Environmentally Friendly Product

Natural Stone is more than an enduring material that stands the test of time. It’s environmentally friendly on several fronts. This makes it an ideal building material for anyone who is interested in doing more than just creating a natural look for our home, but demonstrating that they believe in environmentally responsible values.

Natural stone comes out of the earth in its original state. It is only cut and shaped to fit a particular role in an interior decor element or as part of a landscaping job. It hasn’t been painted, treated with chemicals, bonded with plastic or subjected to any other process that changes its basic nature as a natural material, or adds any sort of toxic residue.

This makes natural stone a “green” product. It doesn’t emit fumes, or leak dangerous substances. It remains stable for long periods of time, and will only be significantly changed by human hands or natural erosion. That means it requires little or no upkeep, so consumers don’t waste money with patches and replacements as they might with concrete or a fake stone substitute.

Natural stone may take a long time to biodegrade, but its residue (sand and earth) are completely nontoxic. Natural stone can also be recycled, as long as it is re-cut or otherwise shaped to its new role. For the most part, however, recycling is unnecessary. It has a tremendous lifespan and will last as long as you are willing to keep it without losing quality. (In fact, many people believe that natural stone improves in time by growing smoother in response to natural wear.) If you must remove it, disposal or reuse presents no environmental hazards. It will bring value and beauty to any project you apply it to for years to come.

Your first step to enjoying this green material is to find a natural stone retailer. Contact us to visit our showroom and check out the possibilities.


Tags: Uncategorized by mike
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Natural Stone Tools of the Trade

Let’s talk about tools! Most people have a set of tools they use to make occasional repairs. Sometimes you might even have a few special tools you plan on using for arts and crafts – once you get the time. And if you’re like most people, you want to save money on those tools because you’ll only be using them occasionally. It just doesn’t make economic sense for you to invest in them too heavily.

Natural stone layers and other trades-people have a completely different attitude. Put yourself in their shoes. If you’re buying a tool that’s going to put food on the table – one that will be a constant companion throughout your working life – savings is the furthest thing from your mind. Instead, you’d be interested in performance and durability. If you’re going to use a tool every day as part of your profession you don’t even think about what you’ll save at the time of purchase.

If you’re planning on doing work with natural stone yourself, you should buy tools with the same attitude, even if you only plan on using them for a few jobs. Leaving aside the fact that some tools have uses beyond natural stone, working with it is the type of process where tool quality will add little to the total budget, comparatively speaking. Consider safety, too. Natural stone isn’t necessarily dangerous, but it’s a relatively hard, heavy substance. Poor tools can chip and shatter, leading to cuts, eye injuries and even fractures in cases where the breaking tool causes a piece of stone to fall on a digit.

(And speaking of safety, remember that you also need to get a good pair of safety boots, gloves and goggles. Without owning them and knowing when to use them, you’ll exponentially increase your chances of injury.)

Finally, you can always see the influence of good tools on a job’s workmanship. You can’t get the best results without solid, professionals tools. If you use cheap tools your levels will be off, your stone will show ugly gouges from tool slippage, and the result just won’t fit together well. A good stone layer uses top of the line tools and it shows in his work. The tools and tradesman become like old pals, thanks to a positive working relationship. An experienced stone layer’s hammers, chisels, levels and trowels look as aged and weathered, but as strong and confident as he does.

Tags: Uncategorized by mike
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Apprentices: The Natural Stone Laying Trade’s Quality Control System

Most seasoned tradesmen in the dry stone laying field have at least one person helping them out while learning the ins and outs of working with natural stone. That’s the apprentice: someone participating in an ancient tradition that continues to help train stone layers, masons and other professionals working in natural stone to the highest levels of skill.

A skilled apprentice learns to work with two or three tradesmen at once. He learns the major types and properties of natural stone and its role in landscaping, construction, veneers, interiors – the exact degree of knowledge depends on how much the apprentice’s teacher knows. Beginner’s knowledge in the trade is enough to fulfil requests quickly, including selecting materials, ordering from natural stone retailers and helping with actual stone laying.

Through it all, it’s the apprentice’s duty to keep his eyes open, ears alert and mind inquisitive. He should ask questions about the trade whenever his teachers can spare the time to answer them, get plenty of practice in all aspects of the trade – and be patient. It takes time to learn to professional standards. I’ve seen many young apprentices work for a trades-person for one year or less, start a business of their own, and leave a trail of disappointed clients in their wake. No amount of (over)confidence and talent can replace practice.

It takes years of working with good stone layers to acquire the ability to visit any job site and work through the different tasks that arise. So if a tradesman that tells you he apprenticed under an excellent professional, get the teacher’s name. Learn his reputation and give him a call. If the natural stone worker you’re thinking of hiring is skilled, his or her teacher will be proud to recommend the former apprentice.

Tags: Sand Stone by mike
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