10 Best Surface Textures Stones to Make Your Home More Attractive
Mar 28, 2023
Finally, you have been asked for the selection of natural stone textures for your home construction project, and you confused at that point.
No problem; natural stone consultants at World of Stones, Maryland, are always available to help you out when you stuck somewhere in buying stones. As a leading stone consultant, I am going to unveil the curtain on the name of stone textures in the industry and at the bottom, buyers, as well as many contractors, confused when the veteran industry people talk about stone textures.
What is the stone texture?
By general definition, the texture is characteristic of the surface of an object, be it a fabric, art canvas, or natural stones. Therefore, textures may be in between two poles, such as smooth or rough, plain or ornate, soft or hard, and matt or glossy.
The texture of Natural Stones:
Stones derived from the rocks, so textures of the rock are reflecting in the dimension stones. However, in the stone industry, different surface treatments or finishing can alter the original rock textures. Some finishes are augmenting the original rock textures while some hinder it.
Thereby, I am going to explain rock texture from a geological point of view first in a nutshell. Later on, I may give you some detailed introduction to surface finishes that grant natural stone texture in applied geology.
Rock Textures:
The word rock texture or rock microstructure is an interchangeable term in fundamental as well as applied geology. According to Wikipedia, textures are penetrative fabrics of rocks. It means its occurrence found across a mass of the rock. It may be on a microscopic, hand specimen, or an outcrop scale. Therefore, geologists are often extracting primary to detailed information regarding the rock simply by examining the rock texture.Based on the rock formation processes, rock textures alter. For instance,
Sedimentary Rock Textures
The description of clasts size, sorting, composition, rounding or angularity, spherical, and description of the matrix involved in the sedimentary rock texture formation.
Metamorphic Rock Textures
It involves the development of foliation and its overprinting.
Igneous Rock Textures
It is a combination of cooling & nucleation rate, the eruption of magma & its composition. Therefore, grain textures, crystal shapes, porphyritic structure, phenocryst shape, spherulites, graphics, and other intergrowth are detrimental factors to create igneous rock textures.
Dimension Stone Texture:
Now, we learned that natural rocks have inherent textures with vast variations, and it depends on the rock formation process as well as a variety of other factors influencing the processes.
Therefore, the natural cleft appears beautiful thanks to the natural beauty and textures it inherits. However, in the construction industry, dimensions, stones hardly use as such status or as the natural cleft, but the surface finishing process is mandatory to make stone usable in different living spaces.
The stone finishing process used to carry different ways — for instance, natural finishing, mechanical finishing, impact finishing, and somewhat chemical finishing. In most cases, the surface finishing treatments are augmenting the inherent rock textures, and very seldom it modifies or hinders the original rock textures described above.
Now, I want the stone buyers to help in making the right surface textures stones to make their spaces attractive and worth living.
Surface Texture Stones by Natural Finishing:
Have you ever marked natural clefts as paver stones for patios and pool decks, gates, and walls in exterior spaces? That natural beauty comes with either sawn finishing or riven finishing.
Sawn stones surface texture:
When gang saw or block cutter is used to cut sturdy types of stone rocks like granite and sandstone, the surface, which left behind, has impressions of cutting tools or cutters, as well as look completely natural at the surface texture.
Riven stones surface texture:
When a rock is splitting along its line of cleavage by manual guillotine-like methods, it reveals the cleft and grains inherits in the mass of rocks. Slate and quartzite are excellent candidates for such stone surface textures.
Surface Texture Stones by Mechanical Finishing:
Here, mechanical surface stone treatment involved. It means alterations in surface structure by mechanical devices take place to enhance some of the inherent rock texture. The followings are trendy stone surface textures in the construction industry.
Polished surface texture stones:
Polished surface texture means glossy or shiny stone surfaces, in other words. It can be achieved through abrasive material applying on the stone surfaces.
Polishing bricks attached to rotary machines or powders used during the stone fabrication process can serve the purposes to highlight natural rock colors, grains, and veins along with making surfaces smooth.
Honed surface texture stones:
The same abrasive methods are applying, but the level of glossiness remains inferior to polished surface texture. The stone surface remains smooth but matted, that makes it non-sleepy.
Thereby, travertine, quartzite, granite, and sandstone varieties are proving the ideal choice for hone surface texture at wet & dry places, including pool decks, baths, and open patios as well as paths are ideal areas of applications.
Satin surface texture stones:
It is falling somewhere in between polished & honed treatments. Therefore, it is not shiny and reflective like the polished surface texture nor matt or dully like honed surface texture.
Surface Texture Stones by Impact Finishing:
Various impacts created by applying external forces to bring uneven and rough textures on the stone surfaces. It almost makes stone surfaces anti-skid and ideal for external as well as wet areas of interior applications.
Flamed stone surface texture:
The rough texture is achieved through heat treatment on the surface by a blowtorch. It pops up the crystals in the stone surface and tends to change the shape, size, and even colors.
Granite and sandstone often prove the right material for external and internal paving material using flamed surface texture treatment.
Bush-hammered stones surface texture:
Hammering actions applied on the stone surface using multiple pointed tools (Bujarda) with small heads. It roughened the surface of stones with pockets and ridges.
Granites and sandstones are often treated this way and used for paving.
Water stones surface texture:
A high-pressure water jet can washout soft particles in the stone surfaces and render it rough-textured.
Tumbled surface texture stones:
A mixture of sand, pebble, and water in a rotating drum can modify the entire stone’s surfaces. The process ends up with an aged appearance. Tumble surface texture applies only to sturdy stone types like granite, travertine, and sandstone.
However, modern techniques allow marble-like softer species of stones to receive tumbled surface textures.
Sandblasted surface texture stones:
Pressurized sand water is used to achieve matt gloss surface textures. Although the sandblasted texture seems slightly scratched but remains nice when touched.
Sandstones used in pavements, paths, and patios are ideal spaces to apply sandblasted surface textures. A mixture of sand, ceramic beads, and other abrasive powders are ideal for it.
Shot-blasted stone surface texture:
It is somewhat similar to the sandblasted stone finishing process, but achievements are subtle and smooth. Thus, it simulates weathering and aging effects beautifully on the stone surfaces.
Antique stone surface texture:
The process involves flaming and brushing with abrasives. It results in time-worn effects on the stone surfaces. It is also known as a vintage stone surface texture in the industry.
Leather stone surface texture:
Leather stone surface texture creates a pebbly surface to touch. It leaves tiny pits and fissures open with lots of pores. Therefore, it seems like polished leather and gives a pleasing appearance.
Surface Texture Stones by Chemical Finishing:
Many chemicals can change the stone surfaces, and they apply with other types of stone treatments to bring unique stone surface textures. The following are some trendy examples of it.
Acid wash surface texture stones:
We know the effects of acids on different stone types. Therefore, careful use of acidic chemicals provides an alternating way to bring an antique look-n-feel.
Epoxy surface texture stones:
Epoxy resin application needs honed surfaces, so the stone is receiving honed finishing first. Later on, stones processed in the oven to get drying treatment for resin layers on the top of the surfaces. Finally, polishing brings natural rock textures out and protect from different weathering effects.
Meshed & protective stone treatments:
It is an additional step in epoxy surface treatment to give additional support to stone durability. After epoxy, a thin net of fiberglass or plastic is applied to the back surface of the stone. It has no decorative role at all.
Similarly, sealing, coating, and anti-graffiti treatments are nothing but modern preventive quantity measurement to lengthen the life of natural stones and the appearance of surface textures.
Where Will You Find the Best Surface Textures Stones?
It is a natural thought in everyone’s mind that where to find stones with the best surface textures from a dependable stone supplier. It is World of Stones, Maryland, in the USA. It has a wide distributing network to provide an adequate inventory of natural stones for exterior applications.
You can get the best quality at highly competitive rates and exceptional consulting and other services available at the post-purchase stage.