STONE SHOWCASE: Autumn Blend

Product Description

Named for the most colorful of seasons, Kirby Stone Company’s Autumn Blend Natural Sandstone products offer a natural ambiance with warm, earthy colors representative of leaves during the Fall. The natural sandstone mixture consists primarily of tan sandstone, approximately 65 to 75% of the blend, but Autumn Blend also includes light and dark browns, rusts and golds associated with Autumn.

Autumn Blend is most often paired with a tan, or buckskin, mortar. Aesthetically, the tan mortar color assists in maintaining the warm, natural colors of the stone.

Autumn Blend sandstone is quarried in Lometa, Texas. For more information or photographs pertaining to Kirby Stone Company’s Autumn Blend natural sandstone products, please visit the Autumn Blend portion of our website. You may get there immediately by clicking HERE.

Product Availability

Kirby Stone Company’s Autumn Blend natural sandstone products are available in a variety of different styles and product types. A full list of available products is listed below. Should you have any questions regarding terminology, you may access Kirby Stone Company’s Stone 101 Lessons by clicking HERE.

• Quarry Chopped Stone

• Thin Veneer Chopped Stone

• 3” to 5” Flagstone

• 4” to 6” Flagstone

• Thin Veneer Flagstone

• Sawn Patio Stone

• Sawn Hearths and Lintels

• Sawn Blocks

For more information regarding all of our stone products, please visit Kirby Stone Company, LLC online at www.KIRBYSTONE.com.

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“HISTORIC STONE PROJECTS: The Empire State Building”

NATURAL STONE FUNDAMENTALS SERIES: Sandstone

We follow Kirby Stone Company's initial lesson in natural limestone by taking a look at a sedimentary relative, sandstone. This blog post will help to better serve a compare/contrast analysis between natural sandstone and limestone.

Please feel free to visit Kirby Stone Company's OFFICIAL WEBSITE to find out more about our wide variety of products.

What is Sandstone?

Referring back to our reference guide, The Columbia Encyclopedia¹, we can gather this definition of sandstone:

"sedimentary rock formed by the cementing together of grains of sand. The usual cementing material in sandstone is calcium carbonate, iron oxides, or silica, and the hardness of sandstone varies according to the character of the cementing material; quartz sandstones cemented with quartz are the hardest."

Comparatively, natural sandstone and limestone are both sedimentary rocks. You can refer to our LIMESTONE lesson for more information on the classification of sedimentary rock. However, in contrast, natural sandstone is classified as grains of sand and rock that have been cemented together.

Natural sandstone often vary greatly in color, more so than limestone, due to the variations within the grains themselves. Thus, many times, sandstone is much more "earthy" with colors ranging from grays, buffs (or tan), reds, or browns, although green and some other colors may also be found.

St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia

Usage of Sandstone Today

Similar to limestone, natural sandstone has been used for centuries a primary masonry material. From beautiful examples of art and architecture, like St. Mary's Cathedral above, structures that have stood the very test of time, like the Karnak Temple of Ancient Egypt below, sandstone has been used greatly worldwide due to the rich variety of colors that can be attained. This wide variety of colors give each project a unique aesthetic that, in turn, will never be exactly matched.

Karnak Temple, Egypt

It can only be assumed a product like natural sandstone was also used, aside from it's availability, because it is tremendously durable. While some sandstones are softer than others, a private residence today may not have worry about the slow erosion of a stone house because, even with some deterioration, the sandstone will be there long after we are all gone!

In addition to large structures and buildings, natural sandstone is also much easier to split than limestone. Therefore, it has become a tremendously popular product in a flagstone pattern, or irregular shape. With flagstone, a user is able to utilize it in a vertical wall application, similar to dimensional stone, but it can also be utilized creatively in landscaping and patio applications.

The versatility and durability of natural sandstone products in today's construction world make it a tremendous asset in planning your next project, inside or out. The wide array of colors, textures and shapes will be sure to make your project one of a kind!

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"Stone Showcase: Autumn Blend"

References
1 "sandstone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sandston.html

"ROCK" 2011 with Kirby Stone Company, LLC!

Ready, Set...2011!!!

As we embark into the year 2011, a new decade, Kirby Stone Company, LLC plans to become YOUR source for everything natural stone. Through the implementation of social media outlets, Kirby Stone Company, LLC promises to keep all of our followers apprised and informed regarding natural stone in the marketplace, including new and existing products, market trends and lessons to grow your knowledge of natural stone.

Upon the review of several resources, Kirby Stone Company, LLC is forecasting growth in 2011 within an improving market with new commercial projects, homes construction, remodels, landscape renovations and more!

In 2011, Kirby Stone Company, LLC want to become your natural stone expert for all of your upcoming projects. There is no project too big or too small! Be sure to follow us along the way as we implement our plan to share more information and knowledge regarding natural stone and all of our products. We will have several series throughout 2011 on natural stone fundamentals, benefits, uses of natural stone, industry standard installation practices and coverage expectations as your personal authority and consultant for natural stone. In addition, we will share project highlights as the year progresses.

Be sure to check often as we begin this process, so you may be updated frequently and be able to make the most informed decisions possible when selecting your natural stone product. You may also visit Kirby Stone Company, LLC via our WEBSITE or follow us on FACEBOOK, TWITTER and LINKEDIN.

Kirby Stone Company, LLC wishes each of you a blessed and prosperous 2011, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!