The cladding adds to the impression of the whole house. It makes it beautiful and original. But cladding has another important purpose. It must isolate and protect from external influences – atmospheric influences and noise. That’s why everyone is looking for long-lasting cladding material.
In stores and online you will find offers of natural stone and artificial material with the effect of natural stone materials. We’ll take a look at the features and benefits of artificial stone and one of the most sought-after facing stones – gneiss from Ivaylovgrad. A comparison will help you make the right choice.
Artificial stone – characteristics, types, prices
In fact, artificial stone is a collective name for various types of artificial materials.
- Raw materials used in manufacturing
The most common type is made of Portland cement, and special additives are used to imitate natural stone material. In addition to Portland cement, artificial stone is made from clinker, clay, fiber cement, polymer materials and more.
- Low prices
One of the main criteria when choosing a lining material is the price. Therefore, artificial stone is a common choice. Its prices are lower than those of natural facing stones.
- Different advantages of the different materials
Choose the material according to your requirements and the circumstances that require the choice of cladding material. For example, clinker materials are used when the load on the base should be less. Fiber cement has a higher cost but is very resistant to sudden temperature changes and is very easy to install.
Natural gneiss stone – characteristics and prices
- Colors
The gneiss extracted in the Ivaylovgrad area is in two colors – silver-gray and golden-brown.
- Gneiss facing slabs
Lining gneiss is available in the following types of slabs
– Polygonal Slabs, which are natural in shape and free in size. Their thickness is between 1.5 and 4.5 cm. The natural shape gives the effect of old world cladding.
– sliced stone gneiss – these slabs are also of free length and vary in width by 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 cm. They are a bit thinner than the previous type of slab – with a thickness between 1.5 and 2.5 cm.
In addition to plates, you can choose a cheaper option – cuttings or gneiss bones. The cutouts are free-sized, 1 to 1.5 cm thick. The bones have a thickness of up to 4 cm, their length reaches 40 cm, and their width is between 3 and 5 cm. They are also very spectacular, but since they are smaller, more time is needed.
The qualities of gneiss material
The gneiss from the Ivaylovgrad region is remarkable for its exceptional strength and firmness. Its surface is rough and non-slip. We will add a few more important qualities: resistance to mechanical influences, chemical influences and abrupt temperature changes.
The increasing choice of natural stone Ivaylovgrad is understandable as the material is extracted from great depth and is of excellent quality. A stone extracted from the depth of a deposit is much more resilient, does not sink and breaks like stone slabs extracted from surface deposits.
The qualities of gneiss from Valmarg Stone include:
- compressive strength in both dry and wet conditions
- high coefficient of frost resistance
- maintaining an attractive appearance regardless of weather conditions and abrupt drops in temperature.
When you are looking for really sturdy lining material, it is enough to knock on it. If the hardness is high, you will hear a sharp, clear sound. Hardness is also known by the traces left by the cutting machine; the soft materials are cut without leaving any traces from the machine. This facing stone successfully passed the above test for hardness.
The cost of gneiss cladding materials is higher, but such an investment is made once and the quality of the material used is crucial.
General advantages of artificial and natural lining materials
Among the types of artificial stone you will find materials that are highly rigid and resistant to external influences. In addition, both types of materials have high fire resistance and help with thermal and sound insulation.
The quality of the material is more important than the price
To make your choice, first consider the qualities of the materials you have chosen. For artificial stones, the qualities are different according to the raw materials used for them. The cost of the material is also important, but as the cladding is a long-term investment, quality must come first.