KASOTA STONE GLOSSARY
Brush up on your knowledge with common terms used in the stone industry.
ORIENTATION OF STONE
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Veine
A “Veine Cut” refers to a stone that has been cut against the sedimentary layer or from the side revealing the individual layers in the stone.
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Fleuri
A “Fleuri Cut” refers to a stone that has been cut with the sedimentary layers or from the top. This reveals a flowery like pattern on the stone.
COMPOSITION & FORMATION
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Calcareous stones are mainly composed of calcium carbonate. Because of their composition these stones are more sensitive to acidic substances and require more cleaning for things like hard water stains and mineral deposits.
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Siliceous stones are mainly composed of silica which are quartz-like particles. These stones are known to be more durable and much easier to clean.
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Sedimentary rocks are those which are composed of many other small rocks. The process starts with erosion, weathering and dissolution - which is when a large rock is broken down into smaller sediments. The small sediments are then slowly compacted by the weight of large bodies of water to form a new sedimentary rock.
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Think of a metamorphic formation as a caterpillar and the butterfly - it starts as a preexisting rock of some kind and then is formed into a completely different rock. This process happens when a rock is exposed to high heat and pressure causing the preexisting rock to change into a completely new one.
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Igneous rocks are made up of magma (or molten rock) from deep in the earth. This magma then rises up where it can cool above or below the earth’s surface. When the magma cools above the surface it is called an extrusive igneous rock. If the magma cools below the surface it is termed an intrusive igneous rock.
COMMON TERMS
Finishes
Honed - A very fine smooth non-reflective finish produced with 120-grit sanding blocks and no visible machine marks.
Polished - The finest and smoothest finish available, produced using incremental sanding blocks until a final wet sand of 3000 grit. This finish has a slightly reflective surface. (Not recommended for exterior use)
Sawn - A smooth texture with marks produced from the saw blade teeth with varying results such as:
WireSawn/GangSawn: Fine saw marks in a straight-line pattern.
BlockSawn: Fine saw marks in a crisscrossing pattern.
Split Face - Produced by sawing top and bottom beds to the desired height, then splitting the slab with a hydraulic press.
Tapestry - A sandblasted finish to a smooth surface, producing a softer textured look. This finish exposes the natural variations in the stone.
Bush Hammer - Created by special tooling - a grid of conical points at the end of a large metal slug. With the repeated impact of these points, a flat but rough, pockmarked texture is created.
Thermal - Flame is applied to the sawn or natural face of the stone to help the natural texture reemerge or to enhance the overall appearance.
Natural Stone Products
Ashlar - A stone façade of generally square or rectangular units having sawed or dressed beds. There are three generally recognized distinctions.
Cap - The culminating stone at the top of a column or pilaster.
Cladding - Exterior veneer stone covering. Non-load-bearing stone veneer used as the facing material in exterior wall construction.
Cobblestone - A dimension stone large enough for use in paving. A term commonly used to describe paving blocks, usually granite, and generally cut or cleft to approximately rectangular prisms.
Curbing - Stone that borders streets and sidewalks.
Cut Stone - Stone that has been fabricated to a finished size and configuration and is ready to be installed.
Dimension Stone - A natural stone product that has been cut, machined, and/or finished to a specific size or shape.
Drip - A groove or slot cut beneath and slightly behind the forward edge of a projecting stone member, such as a sill, lintel or coping to cause water to drop at that location and prevent water from running down the face of the wall.
Panel - A term used to describe either a single unit of fabricated stone veneer, or a preassembled panel including multiple stone units affixed to a structural panel framework
Paver - A single unit of fabricated stone for use as an exterior paving material.
Plinth - The base block at the junction of the stone base and trim around a door or other opening OR The bottom stone block of a column or pedestal.
Seat Block - Generally, a large block of stone that is used for seating in outdoor environments.
Slab - A flat section of natural stone sawn to a prescribed thickness, with length and width determined by the size
Step Tread - A flat stone used as the top (horizontal) walking surface for steps.
Veneer - A non-structural facing of stone, interior or exterior, serving as ornamentation and a weather barrier.
Wallstone - Stone that is used to create barriers or walls in a vertical stacking application.
Quarry and Fabrication
Aggregate - A small mass of rock, having occurred naturally, used either in a loose, non-cohesive state or as an ingredient in mortar or concrete products.
Bedrock - The rock underlying other unconsolidated material, such as soil.
Bench - Steps formed in a quarry by removal of stone. Also, a long seat of cubic stone.
Bevel. A term describing the intersection of two surfaces meeting at an angle other than 90 degrees
Block - A large portion of the bench that is cut into “Block” sections so that it can be fabricated.
CNC Machine - A computer numeric controlled, multi-axis, vertical spindle machine designed to use rotating milling and profiling tools to produce shapes, cut-outs, holes, etc that are otherwise accomplished by more labor-intensive techniques.
Bridge Saw - A saw that travels along a beam, or “bridge”, which travels atop two rails. These saws are usually outfitted with large-diameter blades and can have a rotating table beneath them to allow for different cuts.
Drill Rig - A machine used in the quarry to bore holes in a linear path that begins the separation of the stone bench from its position in the earth.
Hydraulic Splitter - A device used for cutting stone slabs to sizes by means of wedges driven by hydraulic pressure. The resultant fracture is of low precision, with a ragged, chipped appearance.
Line Polisher - A machine that utilizes one or more spindle heads to achieve a polished stone finish.
Water Jet - A machine that uses extremely high-pressure water and an abrasive to cut stone material in complex and exacting shapes from slabs.
Wire Saw - A machine that is capable of cutting in various different diameters and lengths. Wire saws most commonly use diamond segments as their cutting mechanism. This machine is used in quarrying and slabbing.
Testing Data
Abrasive Hardness - A measure of the wearing performance of stone for floors, stair treads, and other areas subjected to abrasion by foot traffic. Refer to ASTM C241 and C1353.
Bulk Specific Gravity - The density of a particular stone. Refer to ASTM C97
Absorption - The amount of water absorbed by a stone, expressed as a percentage by weight. Refer to ASTM C97.
Compressive Strength - A measure of the resistance of the stone to crushing loads. Refer to ASTM C170
Flexural Strength - A bending strength test, normally performed per the ASTM C880 test method, in which a sample of stone of the project thickness is supported by two support rods creating a span of at least 10 times the thickness, and loaded to failure by two rods positioned at quarter points of the span. The results are reported as the stress experienced by the stone sample at the time of specimen failure, and expressed as a force per unit area (lbs/in² or pascals).
Modulus of Rupture - A bending strength test, normally performed per the ASTM C99 test method, in which a small sample of stone (8” x 4” x 2¼”) is supported by two support rods, and loaded to failure by a third rod positioned at the center of the span. The results are reported as the stress experienced by the stone sample at the time of specimen failure, and expressed as a force per unit area (lbs/in² or pascals).
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