When choosing a stone for a project, little guidance is available to the architect, engineer or developer to select acceptance criteria are appropriate for particular types of stone. For example, BS 8298 on Natural Stone for Cladding does not recommend performance criteria.
The Geology Department at Sandberg has extensive experience in the selection, testing and evaluation of stone for use on external facades, internal linings, paving, flooring and applications.
An initial quarry appraisal by one of our experienced, independent, qualified geologists/stone consultants will provide independent advice to determine whether sufficient suitable material will be available and whether an acceptable range of colour and texture is achievable within the project construction programme.
Quarry evaluation of a stone also establishes rock mass features, lateral and vertical variations, detrimental characteristics, methods of extraction and processing, all of which may influence performance.
Once a stone has been selected on aesthetic appearance, it is important to determine whether it exhibits the necessary physical properties and durability characteristics to achieve in-service design life performance through a project-specific designed test programme.
Approval and design testing are performed in-house in our UKAS accredited laboratories.
An important service undertaken by Sandberg’s geologists/stone consultants is independent sampling to ensure that representative material from the area of the quarry to be exploited or from reserved stockpiles is evaluated in the approval test programme.
Care should also be taken to ensure that the fixing method adopted for the construction is appropriate to the type of stone being used. Sandberg can offer a wide range of testing methods and techniques to evaluate fixing performance and verify design factors of safety. Soft and hard body impact tests can be performed to evaluate complete fixing system assemblies.
For more information contact our in-house expert:
