GRANITE – Past, Present and Future

Granite is an igneous rock, crystalline based which is hard and tough. It can be polished, formed, cut and honed to create many useful products. Granite is very durable and suitable for any type of internal structure. It is of great demand in the construction field covering a number of uses in businesses, buildings and homes. Deposits of mica, quartz and feldspar attribute to the beauty of granite which is available in various colours.

It all began in ancient Egypt, where the Egyptians quarried granite to use it in various constructions. Most of their beautiful monuments were built using limestone and granite. For example, the recently unearthed statue of a New Kingdom Pharaoh was completely made of granite. Many such relics, representative of the outstanding civilization of the Egyptians were built with granite blocks. Because of the Egyptians extraordinary sculpting skills, the granite blocks of these statues were built in such a way that even a piece of paper could not have been slid between the rocks.

This igneous rock is part of a historical legacy that runs back thousands of years, but finds a relevance in our times and far into the future. Known for its wide use especially in the beautification of buildings, lets discover the various other uses of this beautiful resource one by one.

Firstly, granite is a favourite when it comes to its use in kitchen countertops. Here solid slabs of granite are cut to custom shape, and polished and doled up with quality finishing edges. Due to the increase in demand for this product in the average income household, the installation rates that cost a bomb are now affordable to the average person too.

Granites are widely used in the Construction industry. Here, granite is quarried and made into blocks with the sides left rough or in some instances polished to a degree. Due to this the blocks join and fit into each other snugly giving the exterior a rough and rugged texture that is becoming ‘a la mode’ in architectural design today. Museums, churches, palaces and universities are few out of the many that are have been built using granite blocks. Large construction projects such as the Arlington memorial Bridge at Washington, D.C. which runs over the Potomac River use granite both as a structural element and as a decorative fence. Hence granite blocks are also used for structural purposes.

Granite counters is widely used as paving stones also called as pavers; this makes driveways and cases very colourful and interesting. This brings out the beauty of this gorgeous material that when combined with professional craftsmanship and expert design truly becomes a masterpiece.

A very creative use of granite can be seen at Mount Rushmore, which is a granite monument in South Dakota made as a tribute to Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson the former Presidents of USA. This huge monument is directly carved into the mountain.

Another common use of Granite is as a memorial stone; mostly as a grave marker in many countries.

Great sculptures begin with a small piece of rock. While you may not be into sculpting, the reason that leads you into this article definitely means you have something on your mind that has to do with this beautiful material. As a kitchen top or material for your next construction project or for a rock statue on your table top, granite is a beautiful piece of rock that you simply must have!