Natural Stone Specialist - The Natural Stone Magazine

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...to Natural Stone Specialist, the stone magazine serving the whole of the stone industry in the UK and Ireland, from extraction through design and processing to fixing, since 1882

 

From July, CE Marking of stone building products becomes a legal requirement under building regulations. The last person to make an alteration to the product (such as cutting or drilling it) can become responsible for the CE Marking of it. Click here to find out more.

 

More than 100 architects and designers took part in the CPD-approved Architect & Designer Day at the Natural Stone Show on 30 April… click here to see a video of the day.

 

 

WorldSkills:

Robert Broomsgrove is representing UK stonemasonry at the WorldSkills competition being held in Leipzig, Germany,
2-7 July… read more

 

 

 

 

TRADING:

Changes in PAYE took effect from April – click here

Implementation of 'opt-in' pensions is underway – click here

CALCULATE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Download the CARBON CALCULATOR spreadsheet that is being made available to the stone industry by Forest Pennant. It was devised by Forest Pennant for the PAS 2050 Carbon Footprinting certification it has achieved on its paving. You can also use it to get your carbon footprint accredited. Click here or on the picture of the spreadsheet to download a copy.

Stone is the most sustainable building material

Stone in all its various forms – sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, travertine, slate and the rest – is the low carbon footprint material of choice for so much construction, conservation, interior design, hard landscaping, roofing, memorialisation, and public and private art.

Unlike man-made products, stone is a truly natural product simply taken from the ground and processed using low energy machinery into the products we use – kitchen worktops, bathroom vanity units, wall and floor tiles, shower trays, paving, kerbs and setts, cladding and so much more.

There is no high energy transformation taking place in fuel-burning kilns that pump vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere as there is with the cement for making concrete, nor polluting chemicals to bind it all together as there is when resins are used. Nature has already done all the work of making the material in its plethora of truly unique and environmentally friendly forms.

The evidence showing how environmentally friendly stone is, is increasing. Historic Scotland published Embodied Carbon in Natural Building Stone in Scotland, which gives figures that show the CO2 equivalent of stone is lower than any other major building material, as does the University of Bath's Inventory of Carbon & Energy (ICE), the latest version of which was published last summer. The Embodied Carbon in Natural Building Stone in Scotland report can be downloaded from SISTech's website. Click here to go to the download area. And to get a PDF of the ICE report, click here.