Case 4

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Introduction

Staining due to Fittings

Type of Building: Commercial Building

Stains are found streaked down from the attachment points of the lettering onto the granite panels. In this case, dirt may have been carried from the attachment points and deposited below.

Granite is an igneous rock. It is formed as a result of the slow crystallisation of molten magma at depth in the earth’s crust. Uplift and erosion has over millions of years, resulted in this material outcropping at the surface. The minerals which make up granite are generally quartz, felspars and various mafic minerals (amphiboles, pyroxenes, micas and secondary materials). It is the size, distribution and precise chemistry of these minerals which give the granite it’s colour. The silica content of a granite should be at least 70%. In the stone industry “granite” has been a term applied to almost all igneous rocks and schists. Traditionally, granite refers to any very hard crystalline rock (quartz based as opposed to marble), calcite based possessing the following characteristics:

With no apparent natural jointing, being difficult to work without special tools,
That takes a high polish and,
Is extremely resistant to natural weathering.

Granite can be worked to achieve every type of finish; from traditional hand tooled, flame textured, shot blasted, acid washed, or honed to highly polished mirror finishes.