SANDSTONE - AUSTRALIA'S FAVOURITE BUILDING STONE
Sandstone was originally the most plentiful and easiest Australian stone to work with in colonial times. Sandstone has now come back in fashion, both for design reasons and interestingly, as an improved cost base for building owners. Both public and private buildings are converting to sandstone flooring and cladding. You’ll find sandstone pavers, sandstone tiles being installed in the most modern new buildings.
Sydney sits on sandstone, and thousands of tonnes of it was used in the 19th century to create Sydney’s first major buildings. This extremely durable stone has survived everything in major city can throw at it, including pollution, car exhaust fumes and the wear and tear of generations.
Sandstone and commercial buildings
It’s no coincidence that sandstone has become very popular again. The durability of sandstone, as well as the much wider range of design choices it provides, have turned the tide against the dull artificial building materials of the 20th century. Very high maintenance costs and inferior building materials are a recipe for problems in commercial buildings, and Sydney building owners have solved the problem by using stone as much as possible for exteriors and interior public areas.
Sandstone and residential buildings
Sandstone has also become extremely popular again with residential owners. Extremely expensive modern homes really need very high quality building materials. Some “McMansions” suffer badly from deteriorating surfaces, particularly externally. The Australian sun will simply destroy any material which can’t tolerate sustained heat and glare. These materials don’t have the durability of stone, and can be nightmarish to maintain and repair.
The solution was and is to install sandstone. Sandstone as a building material is extremely well suited to the Australian environment. It’s an extremely low maintenance material and may only require cleaning about once a decade, if that. This very low maintenance, no-fuss option has been a natural choice for homeowners, builders and architects alike, used for everything from flooring to outdoor tiles.
The endless design possibilities of sandstone
Sandstone comes in many different forms and colours and has many different uses. The typical roles of sandstone include multiple interior and exterior functions:
- Sandstone pavers
- Sandstone flooring
- Sandstone wall cladding
This range of functions includes literally any building surface except roofing. Sandstone, in its vast range of types and colours, can be used to turn any building into a palace.
Sandstone also creates beautiful interior living environments. It’s thermally neutral, remaining at ambient temperatures. Unlike artificial materials, it doesn’t “overreact” to heat or cold, and also doesn’t deteriorate as a result of thermal expansion and contraction.
Sandstone flooring, in particular, has become extremely popular among designers and interior design specialists. This flooring isn’t just elegant, it’s also a good way of creating a design setting. The floor takes up the main accessible living space in any room, and sandstone flooring provides a huge range of possibilities for both colour and texture in design.
If you’re looking for design options for an existing home or a new home, start by checking out the design possibilities of sandstone. You’ll find it stands up very well in comparison with any other materials, and the low maintenance stone also has built-in cost benefits.