At times there have been common misconceptions about the difficulty and maintenance of using limestone in building projects. While it is true that limestone needs care and attention, one needs to consider that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Firstly, the applications of limestone run wide:
- Cladding – Nothing quite rivals the look and feel of real stone on the exterior of a building. Our National Monuments, as well as a high percentage of significant architectural buildings in every city and town in America and the world, are clad in limestone. Limestone gives a timeless, classic look with durability and grace as the overarching imagery.
- Architectural – Limestone can be molded and cut into any shape or form, making it more versatile than most things for architectural details, such as fireplaces, columns, statues, molding, and furniture. It is simply a completely pliable substance that when craftsmen get their tools going, the creations are endless.
- Flooring – New technology and elevated creativity have brought unending amounts of surfaces to the flooring industry. Imitations of limestone and marble abound, but there is no substitute for the real thing.
- Landscaping – Weather resistance, natural beauty, and customization make limestone the perfect material for outside spaces. Blending beautiful materials from the earth atop your greenery and other landscape materials is the only way to go.
- Pool Coping – Custom ability to any shape or form, makes limestone an ideal material for this application. Additionally, limestone is water-friendly. There are very few other materials that suit this application, and that give richness and authenticity to your pool.
Secondly, there are a whole host of reasons to highly consider limestone for your next project:
- Aesthetics – Real vs Fake – Using limestone increases home value. It is timeless and not trendy. Whether planning to maintain the home for decades or planning to sell it soon, everyone appreciates the “real” thing… if porcelain or vinyl is selected, there is a high probability of it becoming dated or just getting tired of it.
- Grout Joints can be tight, and several finishes are possible with limestone that is not found with other materials.
- Repairable and restorable. Cracks in limestone can be repaired to look invisible to the naked eye; limestone can be cleaned repeatedly, and buffed to look like new after several years of wear. The patina that you choose to maintain adds to the stone’s character.
- Hard wearing – Natural stone does not wear out, it just gets better with time.
- Fire resistant – If limestone is subjected to a fire, the soot can be cleaned, and you will have your floor, backsplash, whatever, brought back to its original state.
- Limestone does not corrode and is naturally anti-microbial, making it a clean, safe surface for years to come.
- The many finish options limestone lends itself back to the many applications it is suitable for, but different finishes add uniqueness and interest to your design.
- Whether you choose, honed, polished, brushed, tumbled, flamed, or sandblasted – they all add high design and good technical success to any project.
Beautiful and handcrafted things require a certain amount of care, and the same goes for stone. If something is maintenance-free, it is sacrificing some other attributes such as style, design, or authenticity. All these factors need to be taken into account, but the fact that limestone has been used for hundreds of years in buildings and roadways, and walkways and does not need to be replaced, or if a building is demolished, the limestone can be re-used should be highly considered as to its credibility and excellence.
By Breda Kellner, VP, Sales, Paris Ceramics
