Natural stone is one of the most beautiful ways to finish your house – it has many benefits to consider, including:
- Wide variety of colors and styles
- Energy efficient
- Durable
- Environmentally friendly
- High resale value
- Maintenance free
Stone has always had the ability to be just about anything you wanted it to – and meanwhile it provides permanence and a feeling of security. Stone walls can have the kind of color, contour and texture absent in many other materials. Exterior walls of stone blend organically into the countryside, while interior stone walls and fireplaces give atmosphere and character to any home.
When home builders build something special, something which will last and appeal to both the hearts and minds of discerning buyers they often choose one of the oldest of all building materials.
Modern Improvements in Stone Construction and Renovation
For many years, homes have been built and given stone facing as opposed to having solid stone construction. The White House, for instance, has a steel structure with stone-faced external walls. Most modern brick buildings are not structurally dependent on the bricks themselves to hold up those walls.
This is more efficient in construction and so has brought the cost of building or renovating a home or business with stone into reasonable budgets. New construction techniques and materials have made it easier and less expensive to have the look and feel of stone for almost every possible kind of building and home.
Stone and Masonry Products are Energy Efficient
Stone and masonry products inherently have more mass for their thickness than other building materials, such as wood, synthetic siding or composite. Greater mass will hold a given degree of heat and also heats up and cools down more slowly. During the varying temperatures of the days and nights, stone products will exchange heat more evenly, which keeps heating and cooling costs down.
Numerous studies have also shone that stone and masonry products also reflect heat more effectively, keeping cool air longer in a building during the summer and exterior heat out – and similarly keeping heat inside during the winter while keeping the cold out longer.