Granite Stones

Granite stone is a common, light colored, coarse-grained and a very hard natural igneous rock formation. It is composed of quartz, orthoclase or microcline, feldspars and micas, as well as some traces of a wide variety of other minerals. It is these minerals that contribute to the color and texture of the wide variety of granites. It is an extremely hard, dense, lustrous and a highly durable stone. It is stain-resistant and scratch-resistant. It has a visibly crystalline texture and bears a wide variety of beautiful colors. Amongst the dimensional stones, granite is typically the hardest. It has the capability to effectively withstand all the hardships posed by nature. It is one of the most versatile stone types provided by nature. It is one of the most visually stimulating stones. One of the most important advantages of granite stone is that it lasts for several years and therefore the items that are carved from granite also last a life time and many times are passed on for many generations. It is quite affordable and requires zero to minimum care and maintenance. Though technology has made several advances, but still the natural inherent features of this stone can not be matched by even the finest man-made, synthetic material. The rate at which the granite stone is cooled determines the size of the crystal. In fact, the slower the cooling process, the larger is the size of the crystals. The faster the cooling process, the more fine-grained is the granite crystal. Granites derive their wide variety of stimulating colors, patterns and textures from the minerals that are melted into the liquid mass during their formation. It is these features of granite stone that makes it one of the favorite stones for a wide number of applications.

Granite is one of the popular structural and ornamental stone. Owing to its inherent strength and durability, it is widely used for massive structural work. The fact that it lasts for several years makes it the most obvious choice for making monuments, libraries, museums and stadiums. It is a very useful material used in building and in fact, it is one of the most suitable materials to be used in kitchen. Its mineral rich colors, hardness and density, make it an ideal choice to be used as a building material in the form of calibrated tiles, structural building slabs, memorials, and landscape garden stones. It is one of the most popular stones for making tiles and slabs used for a wide variety of interior and exterior applications such as wall cladding, roofing, flooring etc. While granite tiles are ideal for use in residential and commercial flooring applications, granite slabs are perfect for fabricating granite counter tops, flooring, retaining walls and landscaping around a center fountain/pond. Fine grained granite which is formed through fast cooling process is employed for ornamental, monumental as well as for inscription work.

The most popular granite structures in the world are The Vietnam War Memorial wall in Washington D.C. and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.