Glossary of Terms

ADHERED – A method of fastening a thin stone to a vertical surface by means of adhesion to an approved backing.   This method does not require additional foundations to support the stone.

AGGREGATE - The sand, gravel or stone which is mixed with cement and water to make concrete.

ARRIS – A natural or applied line on a stone from which leveling and plumbing is measured.   An edge or angle where two surfaces of a stone meet.

ASHLAR - A flat surface generally square or rectangular having sawed or dressed beds of joints.   A pattern where the stone is square or rectangular in shape, typically used as a wall facing.  

A .   Random Ashlar – Stone is cut rectangular (usually sawn) and heights are cut to fixed dimensions so that they fit together in a pattern.

B .   Ashlar Rubble – Stone shapes are roughly rectangular and heights are random which produces a more rustic wall.

C.   Coursed Ashlar – Stone is cut rectangular but laid so that stones of equal height are adjacent to each other (i.e. in courses). Horizontal joints run the length of the wall but vertical joints are broken so that no two joints are over one another.

BED – 1.   The top or bottom joint of a stone.   2.   The natural surface of a stone parallel to its stratification.

BEVEL – A sloped surface at the arris line of a stone.

BLUESTONE – A hard sandstone of characteristic blue, gray, green brown and rust colors, quarried in the states of New York and Pennsylvania .

BOLLARD – A free-standing stone post.

BOND – Staggering of joints in successive courses.

BOOKMATCH – A layout of stone (usually marble) such that the veining matches as in mirrored pages of a book.

BROWNSTONE – sandstone of characteristic brown to reddish color. Used extensively in cities such as Boston & New York for both residential and commercial applications.

BULL NOSE – Convex rounding of the edge of a stone in the shape of a half circle – such as on a stair tread.

BUSH HAMMER - Finish applied to cut stone by a bush hammer tool to create a decorative dimpled appearance.

BUTTERING - Placing mortar on stone with a trowel before setting into place.

CAP or CAPITAL – The culminating stone at the top of a column or pilaster, often richly carved.

CAVITY WALL – Masonry wall built with a continuous air space between the outer masonry and the inner wall (typically concrete block or frame construction).   Water that penetrates the outer masonry runs down through the cavity and is directed out at the bottom through weep holes.   (Ask us about solutions for maintaining the integrity of the cavity.)

CAVITY VENT – An opening in the joints of stone veneer to allow the passage of air and water from inside the wall cavity to the exterior.  

CHAMFER – To cut away the edge of a stone where the two surfaces meet in an external angle, leaving a bevel at the junction.

CHINKING - The method of filling large mortar joints in stone veneer with small chips or silvers of stone.

CHISEL - A steel tool used to “dress” or “trim” stone, available in steel or carbide tipped.

CLADDING – The thin stone covering of a building.

CLEFT FINISH – Rough surfaced stones such as slate or bluestone that are cleaved or separated along a natural seam are called natural cleft.

COBBLESTONE – A natural stone (typically granite) usually rectangular in shape, large enough for use in paving and edging.

CONTROL JOINT – A joint that allows for dimensional changes of different parts of a structure due to shrinkage, expansion or other causes.   Its purpose is to prevent development of high stresses to the structure.

COPING – A flat stone used as a cap on free standing walls and the edge of swimming pools.

COURSE - A continuous horizontal band of stone of constant height.

CUT STONE - Finished, dimensional stone, ready to set in place.

DEPTH - Measurement of particular piece of stone from front to back.

DIMENSION STONE – Stone pre-cut and shaped to dimensions of specified sizes.

DRESSED - The cutting and shaping of rough chunks of stone, done by hand chiseling to create a square, rectangular, or a desired finished shape.

DRIP – A recess cut into the underside of a projecting stone to divert and prevent water from running down the face of a wall.

DRYSTACK - Horizontal pattern of stone installed close together allowing for a very narrow bed joint. Joints are raked back into stone work as to be undetectable.

DRY WALL – A stone wall that is constructed one stone upon the other without the use of any mortar.

EFFLORESCENCE – A salt deposit, usually in the form of a white powder residue that forms on the surface of stone, brick or mortar.   It is caused by minerals carried to the surface by moisture .

ENGINEERED STONE – A manmade product composed of a blend of natural minerals and manmade agents (such as polyester, glass, epoxy, etc).   This product can give the appearance of a stone-like surface, but it does not possess the characteristics of a natural stone.   Its range of use is limited.

FABRICATED – Used in reference to dimension stone.   It means manufactured and ready for installation.

FACE – Refers to the exposed portion of a stone.

FIELDSTONE – Loose blocks separated from ledges by natural processes or glaciers and scattered throughout or upon the ground.

FINISHES - Surface treatments, commonly available as:

Smooth - machine finished by saw, grinder or planer
Honed - dull sheen, without reflections
Polished - mirror gloss with sharp reflections
Machine Tooled - 4-cut, 6-cut, chiseled, axed, pointed, etc.
Chat Sawn - irregular and uneven markings
Split Face - concave-convex
Rock Face - convex
Thermal – plane or sawn surface with flame finish applied by mechanically controlled means to create surface coarseness

Special finishes of many kinds are available to meet design requirements.

FLAGSTONE – Thin slabs of stone used for flagging or paving walks, driveways, patios, etc. It is generally fine-grained sandstone, bluestone, quartzite or slate, but thin slabs of other stones may be used.

GRANITE – A fine to course-grained, igneous rock formed by volcanic action consisting of quartz, feldspar, and mica, with accessory minerals.

GROUT - Mortar used to fill joints.

HAND TRACER - Steel or carbide chisel tool with sharp bladed end used for hand dressing or cutting stone.

HAND SET – A tool with a 1/4” flat head bladed carbide end, used for trimming and rock facing stone.

HEAD – The vertical end face of a stone.   It may or may not be exposed.

HEARTH STONE - Originally the large single stone or stones used for the floor of a fireplace; now most commonly used to describe the stone in front of the fire chamber and in many cases extending on either or both sides of the front of the fire chamber.

HONED FINISH – A satin-smooth finish with little or no gloss.

IGNEOUS – One of three great classes of rock, igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic; solidified from molten state, as granite.

JOINT – The space between stone units-usually filled with mortar, sealant or epoxy. Types include, Flush, Raked, Cove, Weathered, Bead, Stripped and “V”.

KERF – The space left by a saw blade as it cuts through a stone.   A kerf can also be cut into the bed of a stone to accept an anchor to hold it to the structure.

KEYSTONE – The central stone of an arch .

LEDGE BED QUARRY - A quarry that by nature allows the harvesting of natural stone by peeling off the natural layers.

LENGTH - Measurement of the face of a particular piece of the stone from left end to right end.

LIMESTONE - A sedimentary rock composed of calcium carbonate; includes many varieties.

LINTEL - A stone beam or horizontal member spanning the top of an opening, such as a doorway or window, and supporting the wall above it.

LIPPAGE – A condition in paving/flooring where one edge of a stone is higher than the edge of an adjacent stone, giving the finished surface an uneven appearance .

MARBLE - A metamorphic rock composed essentially of calcite and/or dolomite, generally a recrystallization of limestone to marble.

MASONRY - Built up construction, usually a combination of materials set in mortar.

METAMORPHIC – Stone altered in appearance, density, crystalline structure, and in some cases, mineral composition by high temperature, intense pressure or both.   Includes slate, quartzite and marble.

MODULAR or MULTIPLE CUT (also PATTERN CUT) - Standard patterns used throughout the stone industry, usually based on multiples of a given size . Stone that is multiple cut or pattern cut is pre-cut to allow typically for 1/4" or 1/2" joints.

MORTAR - A plastic mixture of cement, lime, sand, and water, used to bond masonry units.

NATURAL BED - The horizontal stratification of stone as it was formed in the natural stone deposit.

NATURAL CLEFT - This generally pertains to stones which are formed in layers in the ground. When such stones are cleaved or separated along a natural seam the remaining surface is referred to as a natural cleft surface.

NATURAL STONE – A product of nature.   A stone, such as granite, marble, limestone, slate, sandstone, etc. that is formed by nature and is not artificial or man-made.

OGEE – A stone molding with a reverse curved edge; concave below, convex above.

PALLETIZED - A system of stacking stone on wooden pallets. Stone which comes palletized is easily moved and transported by modern handling equipment. Palletized stone generally arrives at the job site in better condition than unpalletized material.

PAVER – A single unit of stone for use as an exterior paving material.

PITCHED - The technique used by striking a smooth edge of stone with appropriate tools to create a rough, convex appearance.

POINTING – The final filling and finishing of mortar joints.

POLISHED - The finest and smoothest finish available in stone characterized by a gloss or reflective property. Generally only possible on hard, dense materials.   Polishing is a mechanical process, not an applied finish.

QUARRY - The location of a stone quarrying operation where a natural deposit of stone is removed from the ground, as it lies.

QUARRY RUN - Stone that is not sorted but instead is supplied in the color, shapes and sizes as the quarry produces it .

QUARTZITE - A compact granular rock composed of quartz crystals, usually so firmly cemented as to make the mass homogeneous. The stone is generally quarried in stratified layers, the surfaces of which are unusually smooth. It's crushing and tensile strengths are extremely high. The color range is wide.

QUOIN – A decorative stone or brick at the corner of a building.   Quoins are usually laid so their faces are alternately large and small.

REGLET – A narrow, flat recessed molding or a kerf cut to receive flashing.

RETURN – The end of a stone as it turns the corner of a building.

RIPRAP - Irregular broken and randomly sized pieces of rock used for facing bridge abutments and fills; stone thrown together without order to form a foundation, breakwater or sustaining wall.

RISE - Refers to the heights of stone, generally in veneer; the vertical dimension between the top and bottom of a stone, as it would be set.

ROCK (PITCH) FACE - Similar to split face, except that the face of the stone is inclined to a given line and plane, producing a bold, convex appearance rather than the comparatively straight face obtained in split face; stones laid up in a masonry wall with natural faces as received from the quarry, or dressed to resemble natural stone.

RUBBLE STONE - A blend of stone that is naturally or mechanically broken or split, to make up a random, irregular or “spider web” pattern.

SANDBLASTED – A matte-textured finish with no gloss, finished by application of a flow of sand and air over the surface of the stone.

SANDSTONE - A sedimentary rock consisting usually of quartz cemented with silica, iron oxide or calcium carbonate. Sandstone is durable, has a very high crushing and tensile strength, and a wide range of colors and textures.

SAWED EDGE - A clean cut edge generally achieved by cutting with a diamond blade, gang saw or wire saw.

SAWED FACE - A finish obtained from the particular process employed to produce building stone. Varies in texture from smooth to rough and is coincident with the type of materials used in sawing; characterized as diamond sawn, sand sawn, chat sawn or shot sawn.

SEDIMENTARY – Rocks formed of sediments laid down in successive strata or layers.   The materials of which they are formed are derived from pre-existing rocks or the skeletal remains of sea creatures.

SEAMFACE - A stone that exposes a surface that is taken from a quarry seam.

SHOP DRAWING – A detailed fabrication and installation plan showing details of each stone.

SLATE - A very fine-grained metamorphic rock derived from sedimentary rock shale. Characterized by an excellent parallel cleavage entirely independent of original bedding, by which cleavage the rock may be split easily into relatively thin slabs.

SNAPPED EDGE, QUARRY CUT or BROKEN EDGE - Generally refers to a natural breaking of a stone either by hand or machine. The break should be at right angles to the top and bottom surface.

SOAPSTONE - A massive variety of talc with a soapy or greasy feel, used for hearths, washtubs, table tops, carved ornaments, chemical laboratories, etc., known for its stain proof qualities.

SOLDIER COURSE - A horizontal course of series of vertically laid stone.

SPALL – A chip or splinter separated from the main mass of a stone.

SPLITFACE – Stone on which the face has been broken to an approximate plane.

SPLITTER - Hydraulic machine/equipment used to split natural stone.

THERMAL FINISHED – A surface treatment where flakes of stone are removed by intense heating.   Produces a fairly uniform, textured finish.

THIN STONE "Stone Veneer" – ( See Adhered) Veneer stone that is saw cut to a 1 1/2” wall depth from front to back, leaving a sawn back side and an intended finished face. Installed on a vertical wall without a support ledge.

TREAD - A flat stone used as the top walking surface on a step.

TUMBLED STONE - Stone that is mechanically tumbled to create a worn and distressed finish.

VENEER STONE - Any stone used as a decorative facing material which is not meant to be load bearing but is used to cover a wall.

WASH – The slope on the top of a stone unit intended to shed water.

WEATHERED - A stone surface that is naturally created by the combination of natural pressure and mineral staining.

WEEP HOLES – Openings in veneer joints for drainage of cavity walls.