Advantages of granite for building

Floors and walls built with natural stone have many advantages over competing products. Some of these are the following:

Excellent physical properties: The high bending strength of stone, especially granite, make it an extremely firm and consistent building material. The same can be said of its resistance to fixtures, which is essential for the durability of a cladding subjected to considerable forces. Similarly, its high abrasion resistance is crucial for the durability of a pavement subjected to intense vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Non-flammable: natural stone is class A1 in reaction to fire, which classifies the material as «non-flammable, with maximum resistance to fire». In case of fire, natural stone does not release substances harmful to health.

Excellent intrinsic characteristics: stone is virtually the only building material that is placed in its natural state, with no chemical, structural or compositional changes.

Variety of textures and roughness: achieved by the numerous surface finishes which affect mainly the aesthetic result of the wall or paving. In the latter case, they improve certain technological features, such as slipperiness.

Variety of patterns and colours: obtained by a wide variety of sizes, shapes and surface treatments, all thanks to a technological development that never ceases to amaze prescribers, who enjoy a virtually unlimited range of products to suit any environment. 

Possibility of large formats: like some other materials used for facades, stone can offer large formats. Of all the materials used for paving, stone is the one that can offer the largest formats. 

Low maintenance costs: taking into account the total costs of a building material over a lifecycle of thirty years or more, natural stone is no more expensive than any other material. Investment costs are offset by the low maintenance costs and long life.

Contemporaneity: today, stone is becoming a commonly used material in contemporary constructions. Thanks to modern industrial techniques, a large number of possibilities are opened up for architectural design. 

Sustainability: The manufacture of stone clearly requires less energy consumption than many other materials such as ceramic flooring, pre-manufactured pavements made of cement or concrete or agglomerated asphalt pavements. The fact that stone is a natural product already makes it easier to extract and involves much simpler manufacturing processes. From a sustainability point of view, natural stone is characterized by its manufacture, possibility of reuse and easy disposal owing to being inert waste.