Classification of Rocks

Rocks

Geological Physical Chemical Practical

Granite,
Igneous Stratified Argillaceous
Basalts

Sedimentary Un-Stratified Siliceous Marble

Limestone,
Metamorphic Foliated Calcareous Sandstone,
Slate
 Classification of Rocks
• Geological classification
– Igneous rocks (primary, un-stratified, eruptive)
– cooled down molten volcanic lava (magma).
Basalts and granites.
– Sedimentary rocks (aqueous, stratified) –
gradually deposited disintegrated rocks. Sand
stones and lime stones
– Metamorphic rocks – transformed due to great
heat and pressure. Granite to gneiss, lime
stone to marble, shale to slate
Igneous Rock
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Classification of Rocks
• Physical classification
– Stratified rocks – separable distinct layers.
Cleavage plane of split visible. Slate,
sandstone, lime stone
– Un-stratified rocks – no sign of strata, cannot
be easily split into slabs. Granite, basalt, trap
– Foliated rocks – having tendency to split up
only in a definite direction
Stratified Rocks
Un-stratified Rocks
Foliated Rocks
Classification of Rocks
• Chemical Classification
– Siliceous rocks – containing silica SiO2 (sand)
and silicates. Granite, basalt, trap, quartzite,
gneiss, syenite, etc
– Argillaceous rocks – containing clay or
alumina Al2O3. Slate, laterite, etc
– Calcareous rocks – containing calcium
carbonate or lime. Limestone, marble,
dolomite, etc
Calcareous Rocks
Argillaceous rocks
Siliceous rocks
Classification of Rocks
• Practical Classification
– Granites
– Basalts
– Marbles
– Sandstones
– Slates
– Etc, etc
Stone Mountain, Atlanta, USA
Igneous Rocks
Red Granite
Vesicular Basalt
Sedimentary Rocks
Old Red Sandstone
Red Devonian Sandstone
Basalt and Sandstone
Limestone and Slate
Metamorphic Rocks
Green Slate
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Gneiss
Granitic Gneisses
Granitic Gneisses
Miscellaneous Sedimentary
Material
 Glacially Transported Potpourri

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 Glacially Transported Potpourri

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 Chert Nodules (Flints)

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 Chert Nodules (Flints)

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Chert Nodules
Cenzoic Coral
Stone Masonry
 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Appearance & color – uniform color, lighter shades
preferred, free from clay holes, bands or spots
• Structure – Not dull in appearance, crystalline
homogenous close grained is good, stratification should
not be visible, fine grained for carving
• Weight – heavier are compact, less porous, good for
hydraulic structures
• Strength – generally compressive strength needed,
igneous rock stones are stronger
• Hardness– resistance to abrasion, friction and wear.
Hardness scale 1 to 10
• Toughness – Withstand impact, vibrations, moving loads
• Dressing – uniform texture and softness for fine surface
finish
 Characteristics of Good
Building Stones
• Porosity and Absorption – exposed surface absorbs rain water
forming acids causing crumbling action. Cyclic freezing and
thawing of pore water
• Seasoning – hardening and weathering affect due to
evaporation of quarry sap and formation of crystalline film. 6 to
12 months for proper seasoning
• Weathering – resistance to action of weather
• Resistance to fire – free from calcium carbonate or oxides of
iron
• Durability – compact, homogenous and less absorptive
is more durable
• Cost – quarrying, transportation, dressing and installation
 Moh’s Hardness Scale
• 1 Talc, scratched easily by thumb nail
• 2 Gypsum, scratched by thumb nail
• 3 Calcite, scratched not by thumb nail but by knife
• 4 Fluorite, cut by knife with difficulty
• 5 Apatite, cut by knife with difficulty more than 4
• 6 Orthoclase, cut by knife with great difficulty
• 7 Quartz, not scratched by steel, scratches glass
• 8 Topaz
• 9 Corundum
• 10 Diamond
 Moh’s Hardness
Scale

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 Minerals

Talc Gypsum Calcite Flourite Apatite

Orthoclase Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond

Quarrying of Stones
 Quarrying and Dressing
• Quarrying: An art of extracting stones from
the rock beds of different varieties used for
general building work and broken stones
for roads and concrete work, etc
• Quarry: The place from stone is obtained
by digging or blasting etc
 Quarrying Methods
• Digging or Excavating Method. Stones occurring
as detached nodules may be dug using manual
methods like crowbars etc
• Heating Method. Rock surface is heated for
several hours resulting into unequal expansion
and crushing of rock into small pieces
• Wedging Method. Layered rock is split at
cleavage or seam using steel wedges and pins
• Blasting Method. Hard and compact rock is
blasted out using explosives techniques
comprising boring, charging, tamping and firing
Quarrying
Tools
 Blasting Procedure
• Boring. Drilling of holes in rock using jumper, manual
drilling or machine drilling using pneumatic or
mechanical power
• Charging. Placing of required quantity of explosive

charge in the hole at desired location. Quantity depends

upon explosive strength, blasting method, number of
holes, type and mass of rock
– Gunpowder or Dynamite explosive (gms) = Square of length of
line of least resistance (m) / 0.008
• Tamping. Placing of priming charge, detonation cable
(cordite), and sealing off the escape of gases
• Firing. detonation mechanism (electrical or non-electrical
detonators) or fuse ignition
 Blasting Precautions
• Blasting should not be carried out in late evening or early
morning. Blasting should be made public with sufficient
time allowed to retire to safe distance
• 200 m radius danger zone should be marked with red
flags
• First aid should be made available
• Proper record of number of charges prepared, fired and
exploded to account for misfires
• Explosive should be handled carefully
• Detonators and explosive should not be stored and kept
together
• Cartridges should be handled with rubber gloves
• Maximum of 10 bore holes should be exploded at a time
and that too successively and not simultaneously
 Stone Dressing
• Pitched faced dressed – 2.5 cm edges dressed and
made square
• Hammer dressed, hammer faced, quarry faced or rustic
faced – dressed like a brick with 2.5 cm rough edges for
use in masonry
• Rock faced and chisel drafted – chisel draft of 2.5 cm
along edges
• Rough tooled – edges and corners made perfect square
and true
• Punched dressed – rough tooled improved up to 2 mm
• Fine tooled – fair smooth surface for ashler masonry

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Dressed Stone Surfaces
Dressed Stone Surfaces
Stone Care
 Deterioration of Stones
• Rain.
– Physical Action. Disintegration, erosion,
transportation due to alternate wetting and drying
– Chemical Action. Decomposition, oxidation and
hydration of minerals due to acids formed with rain
water
• Frost. Pierces the pores, freezes, expands and
creates cracks
• Wind. Abrasion due to wind carried dust
• Temperature Changes. Expansion and
contraction affects on minerals of different
coefficients of linear expansion
 Deterioration of Stones
• Vegetable growth. Roots of trees and
• weeds in cracks and fissures
• Mutual decay
• Chemical Agents. Smokes, fumes, acids and acid fumes
from atmosphere
• Lichens. Destroy lime stones. Molluses
• make series of parallel vertical holes
 Avoiding Deterioration
• Initial selection – use compact, crystalline stones instead of porous
material
• Seasoning – Seasoned stones are less liable to deterioration due to
• frost and acids
• Size – it does matter – bigger is more durable than smaller ones
• Natural bed – placing on natural bed provides greater strength and is
detrimental to rain and frost
• Surface finish – well dressed, smooth finished and polished is more
• durable
• Workmanship – all joints filled leaving no cavities in masonry
• External rendering – pointing or plastering to stop rain penetration
• Proper maintenance – washing, removing dirt and dust
• Application of preservatives – eliminate cause of deterioration
• Cure is better than medicine
Natural Bed
of Stones
 Preservation of Stones
• Stones should be kept dry with blow lamp and
applied coat of paraffin, linseed oil, light paint,
etc
• Stones should be washed with water and steam
to remove dirt and salt
• In industrial towns stones are preserved by
application of solution of baryta, Ba(OH)2 to form
insoluble barium sulphate
• Preservative treatment only slows down the
decay but does not stop it. All have harmful side
effects also

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 Selection of Stones
• Cost – quarrying and cutting, dressing,
transportation charges, etc
• Fashion & Ornamental value including
color, shade, etc specially after prolong
usage
• Durability (usually overlooked and
disregarded), resistance to fire and
weathering
 Selection of Stones
• Heavy engineering works bridges, piers, abutments,
break waters, docks, light houses – granite (biotite,
hornblende, tourmaline)
• Buildings facing the sea – granite, fine grained
sandstone
• Buildings in industrial area – granite, compact sandstone
• Arches – fine grained sandstone
• Building face work – marble, close grained sandstone
• Fire resisting structure – compact sandstone
• Road metal and aggregate for concrete – granite, basalt,
quartzite
• Railway ballast – coarse grained sandstone, quartzite
• Electrical switch board – slate, marble
 Artificial Stone
• Definition - Building material made with cement, sand and natural
aggregates of crushed stone for use in place of natural stone
• Properties
– Made with white cement, sand and natural aggregates of crushed
stone
– Moulded into most intricate forms
– Cast into any size
– Reinforced to desired higher strength
– Desired coloring may be achieved
– Desired finish may be achieved
 Artificial Stone
• Concrete block. Cast in moulds for steps,
window sills, masonry work, etc
• Ransom stone. Soda silicate plus cement for decorative
flooring
• Victoria stone. Granite pieces immersed in soda silicate for
two months
• Bituminous stone. Provide noise, wear and
dust resistant stone surfaces
 Artificial Stone
• Imperial stone. Crushed granite plus cement,
moulded, steam cured
• Artificial marble. Pre-cast or cast-in-situ. Portland gypsum cement and
sand. Cast blocks treated with magnesium fluorite, washed, paper
wrapped, machine emery ground, polished and finally rubbed with ball
of wool moistened with alum water
• Garlic stone. Iron slag and cement mixture
molded into flag stones, surface drains, etc
 MASONRY
Masonry is defined as the art of construction in which building units, such as clay bricks,
sand-lime, bricks, stones, Pre-cast hallow concrete blocks, concrete slabs, glass bricks,
combination of some of these building units etc are arranged systematically and bonded together
to form a homogeneous mass in such a manner that they can with stand point to other loads and
transmit then through the mass without fail or disintegration.
Masonry can be classified into the following categories.
[Link] masonry
[Link] masonry
[Link] block concrete masonry
[Link] masonry
[Link] masonry
These can be further sub-divided into various types depending upon workmanship and type of
materials used.
Definitions of terms:

[Link]: A course is a horizontal layer of bricks stones

[Link]: the surface of a stone perpendicular to the line of pressure of (lower surface of bricks
or stones in each course)

[Link]: The inner surface of wall not exposed is called back. The material forming back is
known as backing

[Link]: The exterior of the wall exposed to weather is known as face. The material used in
the facing of wall is known as facing’

[Link]: It is the interior portion of a wall between facing and backing

6. Head: It is a brick or stone, which lies with its greatest length at right angles to the face
of the work.
7. Stretcher: It is a brick or a stone that lies with its congest side parallel to the face of the
work
8. Bond: The method of arranging bricks so that the individual units are tied together
9. Spalls: The chips of stone used for filling the interstices in stone masonry

10. Quoins: The stones used for the corners of the walls of the structure

11. Bat: It is a portion of a brick cut across the width.

12. Closer: It is the portion of a brick cut in such a manner that its one long face remains
uncut
13. Queen closer: it is the portion of a brick obtained by cutting a brick lengthwise into two
portions
[Link] closer: It is the portion of brick obtained by cutting off the triangular piece between
the centre of one end and the centre of one side.
[Link] closer: It is the portion of a brick in which the whole length of the brick is
bevelled for maintaining half-width at one end and full width at the other

[Link]: It is an indentation or depression on the top face of a brick made with the object of
forming a key for the mortar.

[Link]: It is a horizontal stone, concrete, or wood, employed for the purpose of shedding off
rainwater from the face of the wall immediately below the window opening

[Link]: It is the extension of one or more courses of stone or brick from the face of a
wall to serve as a support for wall plates

[Link]: Pieces of stone placed under the end of a beam to distribute the load over a
greater area.
20. Coping: It is the course placed upon the exposed top of an external wall to prevent the
seepage of water

21. Buttress: It is a sloping or stepped masonry projection from a tall wall intended to
strengthen the wall against the thrust of a roof as shown in fig 11.1
Fig 11.1 Definitions of terms
11.1 Stone masonry: The construction of stones bonded together with mortar is termed as
stone masonry where the stones are available in a abundance in nature, on cutting and dressing
to the proper shape, they provide an economical material for the construction of various
building components such as walls, columns, footings, arches, lintels, beams etc.
Uses of stone masonry:
Stone masonry construction is used in
1. Building foundations, dams, monumental structures
2. Building walls, piers, columns, pillars, light houses and architectural works
3. Arches, domes, lintels and beams Roofs, flems, paving jobs
4. Railway, bullest, black boards and electrical switch boards
1. Selection of stone for stone masonry:
The selection of stones for stone masonry depends upon
a. Availability
b. Ease of working
c. Appearance
d. Strength and stability
e. Polishing characteristics
f. Economy
g. Durability
The table given broadly outlines the different types of stones used for different purposes
[Link]. Purpose Stones used
1. Heavy engineering works Granite, gneiss
Ex: stocks, break waters, light houses, bridges, piers
2. Buildings situated in industrial towns Granite and compact
sandstone
3. Pavements, railway ballast, doorsits and Granite slabs and
steps slate
4. Electrical switch board Marble slabs and
slate
5. Fire resistance works Compact sandstone
6. Carving and ornamental works Marble and laterite
7. Face work and architectural purposes Marble, granite closer
gained sand stone
Tools required for stone masonry construction:
Tools for Stone Masonry
a)Trowel : This is used to lift and spread mortar
b)Square: This is made of flat steel having each arm
about 0.5m long
c)Plumb rule and bob: This is used to check the
vertically of walls
d)Spirit level: this is used to chick the horizontality of
walls
e)Line and pin: This is used to maintain the alignment
of the work in progress
f) Bevel: The instrument used to set right angles
g)Pick axe: This is employed for dressing of rough stone
and split the stones in the quarry
h)Crowbar: This is used to make stones in query
i) Chisels: They are used to dress stones
j)Spall hammer: Thisis heavy hammer used for rough dressing of stones
k)Mallet: The wooden hammer used for driving of wooded headed chisels
l)Iron hammer: This is used for carving of stones
m)Scabbling hammer: This is used to break small projections of stones
n)Pitching tool: This is used to make the stones of required size
o)Gauge: this is employed to dress stones for spring course, comice, coping etc
p)Claw tool: This is employed for dressing the surface of stones
q)Nicker: This is employed to draw fine chisel lines on the stone surface
r)Jumper: They are used for boring holes
s)Wedge and feathers: They are employed for cutting the stones after they have been bored
with jumper.
t)Gad: A small steel wedge used for splitting of stones
 k)Drag: This is employed to level a stone surface
l)Punch: This is employed to roughly dress the stones
m)Handsaw: This is used to cut soft stones
n)Cross-cut saw: This is used to cut hard stones
o)Frame saw: This is used to cut large blocks of stone.
11.3 Types of Stone Masonry:

Based on the arrangement of the stone in the construction and the degree of refinement in the
surface finish, the stone masonry can be classified broadly into the following two categories
 [Link] masonry
[Link] masonry

General principles in the stone masonry construction

[Link] stones to be used for stone masonry should be hard, tough and durable.
[Link] pressure acting on stones should be vertical
[Link] stones should be perfectly dressed as per the requirements
[Link] heads and bond stones should not be of a dumb bell shape.
[Link] order to obtain uniform distribution of load, under the ends of griders, roof trusses etc
large flat stones should be used
[Link] beds of the stones and plan of the course should be at right angles to the slope in the
case of sloping retaining wall
[Link] boxing should be filled into walls having fine dressed stone work to protect it during
further construction
 [Link] masonry
[Link] masonry

General principles in the stone masonry construction

8. The mortar to be used should be good quality and in the specified faces.
9. The instruction work of stone masonry should be raised uniformly.
10. The plumb bob should be used to check the vertically of erected wall
11. The stone masonry section should always be designed to take compression and not the
tensile stresses
12. The masonry work should be properly cured after the completion of work for a period of 2
to 3 weeks
13. As per as possible broken stones or small stones chips should not used
 [Link] scaffolding should be used for working at higher level
[Link] masonry hearting should be properly packed with mortar and chips if necessary to
avoid hallows
[Link] properly wetted stones should be used to avoid mortar moisture being sucked

1) Rubble masonry: In this category, the stones used are either undressed or roughly dressed
having wider joints. This can be further subdivided as uncoursed, coursed, random, dry,
polygonal and bint.

(i)Uncoursed rubble masonry: This is the cheapest, roughest and poorest form of stone masonry.
The stones used in this type of masonry very much vary in their shape and size and are
directly obtained from quarry. Uncoursed rubble masonry can be divided into the following.
 a)Uncoursed random rubble
b)Uncoursed squared rubble
a) Uncoursed random rubble masonry: The weak corners and edges are removed with mason’s
hammer. Generally, bigger stone blocks are employed at quoins and jambs to increase the
strength of masonry.
 Uncoursed random rubble masonry

b) Uncoursed squared rubble: In this type the

stone blocks are made roughly square with
hammer. Generally the facing stones are given
hammer-dressed finish. Large stones are used as
quoins. As far as possible the use of chips in
bedding is avoided as shown

Uncoursed squared rubble masonry

 (ii) Coursed random rubble: This type of masonry is
commonly used in the construction of low height
walls of public buildings, residential buildings,
abutment and piers of ordinary bridges. The stones of
5 to 20cm size are used in each course as shown in
fig

Coursed Random Rubble

(iii)Coursed squared rubble: This type of masonry is made

up of hammer squared stones facing with bonded backing
of uncoursed random rubble masonry. The stones
employed in each course are of equal height. The backing
and facing construction, should be carried simultaneously.
In order to avoid thick mortar joints, small chips may be
used as shown in the fig Coursed Squared Rubble Masonry
 (iv)Built to regular course:
In this type of stone masonry the uniform height
stones are used in horizontal layers not less than
13cm in height. Generally, the stone beds are
hammered or chisel dressed to a depth of atleast
10cm from the face. The stones are arranged in such
a manner so that the vertical joints of two
consecutive curse donot coincide with each other as
shown in fig

Built to regular courses

 (v) Polygonal rubble masonry: In this type of
masonry the stones are roughly dressed to an
irregular polygonal shape. The stones should
be so arranged as to avoid long vertical joints
in face work and to break joints as much as
possible. Small stone chips should not be used
to support the stones on the facing as shown in
fig

Polygonal rubble masonry

 (vi) Plint rubble masonry: This type of masonry is
used in the areas where the flint is available in plenty.
The flint stones varying in
thickness from 8 to 15cm and in length from 15 to 30cm
are arranged in the facing in the form of coursed or
uncoursed masonry
as shown in fig

Plint Rubble Masonry

 (vii) Dry rubble masonry: This type of masonry is used in the
construction of retaining walls pitching earthen dams and canal
slopes in the form of random rubble masonry without any
mortar. The hallow spaces left around stones should be tightly
packed with smaller stone pieces as shown in fig
[Link] Masonry: This type of masonry is built from
accurately dressed stones with uniform and fine joints of
about 3mm thickness by arranging the stone blocks in
Dry Rubble Masonry
various patterns. The backing of ashlar masonry walls may
be built of ashlar masonry or rubble masonry. The size of
stones blocks should be in proportion to wall thickness.
The various types of masonry can be classified under the
following categories as shown in fig
(i) Ashlar fine
(ii)Ashlar rough
(iii)Ashlar rock or quarry faced
iv. Ashlar facing
v. Ashlar chamfered
vi. Ashlar block in course

Ashlar Fine Masonry

Ashlar chamfered Masonry

Ashlar Facing