What Is Granite? All You Need To Know!
This article seeks to answer the most basic questions about this material that has captivated human beings for so long. What is Granite? What is your origin? How is Granite extracted from the environment, and how can I apply it?
What Is Granite?
The name Granite comes from the Latin word Granum, which means grain. Its history and use are long. It is believed that the first to extract and use the material in their constructions were the Egyptian people, who were vain in terms of aesthetics. For its beauty, grandeur, and sophistication, the material was often used to construct pharaonic tombs.
The Romans also widely used it in the Middle Ages, used for large constructions, such as temples, churches, and houses. Granite is an igneous (magmatic) rock. This means that it forms inside the Earth’s crust due to magma’s slow cooling and solidification.
Made up of a set of minerals, the most common found in its composition is Quartz (colorless mineral, hardness 7), Mica (a mineral that gives shine, hardness 2 – 4), and Feldspar (mineral responsible for the variety of colors, of hardness 6). Other frequent accessory minerals are also found: biotite, muscovite, amphibole, and others.
Granite Features
As mentioned before, Granite such as bedrock quartz for example is an igneous, crystalline rock with a high hardness content due to its mineralogical composition and a wide variety of minerals, which can be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, it is very resistant to the effects and actions of time and stains, and chemical elements. Its color is varied and can assume shades of gray, brown, red, blue, green, and many others, depending on the properties of the materials present in the composition and the degree of impurities in the rock.
The material has a low liquid absorption rate since it has low porosity, which prolongs its life. Added to its hardness, we see why it is so used for civil construction.
How Is Granite Mined?
In the quarries, Granite is extracted with the help of diamond wire machines, which are still used in some mines with drills and dynamite (explosive). And right after the boards are knocked down, the blocks of standardized sizes are cut. In this way, after a brief treatment, the block can be marketed. However, it is also possible to unfold them in sheets, subjecting the material to some processes that can change its appearance, such as levigation, polishing, etc.
Granite Applications
Due to its durability and resistance, Granite finds several uses in civil construction. It is a very versatile material. Thus, it finds space in kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, external wings, floors. In other words, it is a material that will fit your project like a glove!
