Stone in it’s natural form is durable and weather resistant which is often laid in mortar similar to other manufactured masonry units. Natural stone may also be utilized in pathways and as a rip rap material. The most common types of stone used are granite, sandstone, marble, slate, and limestone. Randon irregular stone is commonly used for rubble masonry, rustic, and cobblestone work. The following are 4 primary types of stone materials used often: granite, sandstone, slate, and limestone.

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Stone can be utilized in bearing or non-bearing walls, it is most commonly used only as a face on an structural wall substrate. Some common forms of stone masonry units are random rubble, coursed rubble, squared rubble, random ashlar, coursed ashlar, broken rangework.

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broken rangework
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Rustication (top) and Splitface (bottom)

Not all types of natural stone is readily available, the supplier often must be involved actively in the bidding process to assure lead times are consistent with project schedule and pricing is accurate. Stone may be sold by the cubic yard or ton but is commonly sold by the square foot. Large blocks of stone may be priced by the cubic foot. For natural stone installation, mortar may take up a significant amount of surface area, in which case it may be required to deduct a certain area. Cut stone has an area consumption of about 2-4 %, ashlar masonry 6-20%, and random rubble 15-25%.