Granite Introduction Part 3 – Uses of Granite

Granite is a very strong and durable stone. As mentioned in Part 1 of our granite introduction, its compressive strength can easily be around 200 MPa or even more, which is far above common grade concrete of 20 – 40 MPa. In addition to its strength, granite is very hard and dense, which makes it very durable, which means its resistance to weathering, abrasion, impacts, scratches, salt and acid action, high heat, and other external effects is very high. Its high density also causes it to have very low permeability which practically means waterproof material. Combined with these superior qualities is its natural beauty, and wide availability all over the world, which makes granite a very desired construction material to be used in almost any type of indoor or outdoor application, whether structural or nonstructural (architectural). Again as mentioned in Part 1, granite is found often in wherever there are mountain ranges, which also means wide availability.

The most common applications for granite are as flooring, wall cladding, facade, paving, stair covering, sinks, kitchen or bathroom countertops, fireplaces, tabletops, sculptures, monuments, pedestals, mosaics and more… Some rare granites are also used as gemstones.

Granite is one of the oldest construction materials used historically, with the applications similar to the ones counted above. In addition, its structural use was more critical in the past, as we did not have the technology to produce reinforced concrete or steel structures before. For example it was very commonly used as a superior foundation material, which could carry very high structural loads due to its high compressive strength. Entire historical structures such as temples or great parts of them were made of granite as well. The known history of granite use goes at least as far early as the Pyramids of ancient Egypt. In the center of Giza pyramids which were constructed 4500 years ago, where the most important sections are located, very large granite blocks of more than 60 tons were placed, which were also brought from hundreds of kilometers of distances through river boats. The placement of these very large blocks were so precise that not even a credit card can fit between the blocks at most locations. These heavy granite blocks convey the sense of richness and importance and stood the test of time with little to no signs of wear. Considering the fact that the ancient Egyptians didn’t have the knowledge of iron, it is still through some theories that the scientists are debating how exactly the large blocks were originally cut in the quarries.