Marble stone is one of the most beautiful and highly demanded stone. It gives a very soft look and provides elegance to the modern era. Marble stone is used in architecture and sculpture. Taj Mahal is one of the finest monuments among the Seven Wonders of the World, which is made by using the marble stone.
Marble stone is a very good building material. Marble stone can be used in your home for furniture, counterparts, flooring, foyers, bars, tables, showers, windows and fireplaces. It is a very natural stone, easy to clean and gives you a spectacular look.
Some of the distinguished features of marble stone are as following:-
Physical Properties: - Physically hardness of marble stones lies between 3to 4 moh’s scale, density lies between 2.5 to 2.65 Kgandm3,compressive strength lies between 1800 to 2100 kg/cm2,porosity is quite low and marble stone is resistant to weather impact.
Durability:-
The degree of resistance of marble to chemical agents in the atmosphere, to heating and cooling and to the alternate cycles of freezing is a measure of its weathering ability. The durability of marble has less effect of freezing. Rainwater absorbed chemicals like acid that were produced by industrial waste have less than 1% effect on the marble as against 4 to 12% in other masonry materials. This is the reason why marble are so durable even in severe climatic or weathering conditions.
Finishes:-
Marble can be finished or polished in three ways:-
- Polished finish: - A mirror like glossy surface that brings out the full color and character of the marble, it is not recommended for exterior work.
- Hone finish: - A velvety smooth surface with little or no gloss.
- Sand or abrasive finish: - A flat non-reflective surface usually recommended for exterior use.
This type of finish preferred bear some small relationship to final cost since the smoother, more highly reflective surfaces require more polishing, consequently more time. The most efficient finish for exterior use is the sand or grainy finish.
Categories’ of marble:-
The marble blocks, slabs and tiles can be classified broadly in the following two categories:-
A. pure white marble
B. Different colored marble such as black, green, pink, brown, yellow and grey and so on.
Varieties:-
There are over 3000 varieties in marble stone available in the world market. Marble deposits are widely spread in India mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan is the main depository of marble in India accounts for over 90% of total marble production of the country, with reserves spread over the districts of Nagpur, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Banswara, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Sirohi, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Bundi, Alwar, and Pali. Some popular varieties are given below:-
- Makarana Marble-- The main sub-varieties are Kumhari, Doongri, Alberta, Chosira, Pahar Kuwan, Bhot, adanga marble, Makarana chalk, Abu white and Makarana White.
- Rajnagar Marble is the largest marble-producing area, having units located in the nearby town of Kishangarh to process the material produced. Agaria, Dolomitic, quartz is the best variety of this area.
- Andhi Marble is located near the capital city of the state of Jaipur; the varieties are pista (pistachio) marble. One of the famous varieties of this area is known as Indo-Italian, owing to its resemblance with Satvario Marble. The Supreme Court of India now bans most of the mining of this famous field. The other varieties are Peta Pasu, Udaipur green, Umber (Bundi) Jaislmer and Narnaul marble etc.
- In Gujarat, Amba Ji Marble and Baroda green range are widely used..
- In Madhya Pradesh, Kattani Range and Jabalpur range are famous for marble stone
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