Vesta Marble & Granite

Understanding Stone

Almost every home being built or remodeled now uses stone as one of its hard surfaces materials as flooring, countertop, walls, fireplaces even tabletops. Most buyers and designers have become comfortable with selecting and specifying stone. A surprising number of them are genuinely curious about its physical characteristics. Most of us are not ready to return to school to take comprehensive geology classes, but remain genuinely curious about the origins and characteristics of this increasingly popular material.

What is a Rock?

A rock is a hard substance composed of minerals, typically more than one. The most common minerals in rocks are made of the elements that are most abundant in the earth’s crust. Eight elements, alone or in combination, make up about 100 common minerals, but less than 20 are widely distributed in the earth’s crust. These minerals make up almost all rocks; Quartz, Calcite, Feldspars, Micas, Augite, and Hematite.

There are three basic types of rocks, each formed in different way: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

Igneous rock is formed by the hot, fluid magma that moves within the earth’s crust.

Sedimentary rock is made of particles that have been carried along and deposited by wind, or water. Sedimentary particles include bits of mud, sand, shells, bones, leaves, and stems. Over time they become pressed together to form rocks.

Metamorphic rock is formed when chemical reactions, hear, and/or pressure change existing rocks into new kinds of rock. The new rocks have very different physical and chemical properties from the original rock.