types of marble

Types of Marble

By | Posted in: Marble Flooring, Types of Flooring |

Marble is a stunning material which, once finished, is very elegant and beautiful. There are many varieties of Marble tiles in a huge array of colours. Marble tiles can range from rich, dark and opulent blacks to delicious, luxurious caramels and coffees to striking iridescent silvers and any other colours imaginable in between. A truly classic, tasteful and expressive stone which will complement any style of decor.

Marble is an incredibly hard and durable stone, easily able to withstand the rigours of any situation. It is one of the oldest building materials and due to its outstanding durability, historic examples of marble work is still in existence. Despite its durability,Marble is a porous stone with fairly low stain resistance it is therefore imperative to ensure that it has been well sealed, installed correctly and is maintained with a good quality stone soap and care products. Our Lithofin Easy Care is the perfect regular cleaning product for your marble floor and marble wall tiles.

Many people have the pre conception that Marble is very expensive and therefore often over look it. This is not true, Marble tiles, although slightly pricier than Travertine tiles and Slate tiles does not have to be awfully expensive. There are some very good quality Marble tiles available at reasonable prices. Please see our fantastic selection of Marble tiles.

What is Marble?

It is a metamorphic rock composed of fairly pure calcite due to regional or contact metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, either limestone or dolostone. This metamorphic process causes a complete recrystallisation of the original rock into an interlocking mosaic of calcite and/or dolomite crystals. The temperatures and pressures necessary to form marble usually destroy any fossils and sedimentary textures present in the original rock. The presence of swirls, linear patterns or banding is a key characteristic.

Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of very pure limestones. The characteristic swirls and veins of many coloured marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallised by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism.

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