Know more about natural stone and wood floors

Limestone

Sedimentary rock composed of mineral calcite – the skeletons and shells of marine organisms and corals which lived in warm shallow seas millions of years ago. The limestone cliffs we see now were once ocean floors!

Limestone ranges in colour from grey to buff, beige to dark brown and also includes reds, greens, blues and yellows depending on the impurities present . Iron oxide causes the familiar brown and yellow shading whilst dark greys and blacks are associated with organic matter . Purer limestones can be almost white.

Calcite - is a relatively soft material and some stones can be problematic as a flooring material . A great many stones are, however tried and tested and provide hard wearing low maintenance floors. In addition to our domestic stones eg Portland, Cotswold or Purbeck many limestones are imported from France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Tunisia and Israel.

Marble

Metamorphic rock formed by the recrystallisation of limestone in the presence of intense pressure or heat, for example where magma rises from deep within the earth.

The recrystalised calcite forms an interlocking, granular structure which can be polished . Although the temperatures and pressures needed to form marble will usually destroy fossils or sedimentary textures, the characteristic irregular patches of colour or the presence of veining are due to the minerals present in the original limestone.

Travertine

A semicrystalline form of precipitated calcium carbonate formed slowly and in layers where calcium rich waters cool rapidly, usually around hot springs.

Incorporated organic matter eg tree debris rots away later leaving voids in the material – these appear as holes in the face of stone tiles . Such holes can be ‘ slurry grouted ‘ or factory filled with resin before they are used.

Low quality travertine with many holes will perform badly as flooring and should be avoided.

Slate

True slates are metamorphosed sedimentary materials, typically mudstones . Characterised by their ability to be easily split to produce a natural ‘ riven ‘ face , this material has high flexural strength and very low porosity making it ideal for flooring.

Slates are available in blacks, greys, greens, blue black as well as a great many multi – coulour varieties from as far afield as India, China and Brazil.

Granite

These are igneous stones formed by the slow cooling of molten minerals, for example feldspar or quartz. An interlocking crystal structure results and these hard stones can be polished and cut into 20 or 30 mm slabs for the fabrication of worktops, flooring and other masonry.

Cornwall is the biggest producer of UK granite, and with imports from Scandinavia, Amerca, India, China, Spain and others, the choice of colours and other charcteristics is immense.