Each stone is like a mirror of time, telling a lot about the history of the earth and humanity. Color, shape, and texture are records from the past, with the imprint of past centuries.Because stone is a timeless material that does not yield to the test of time.Granite is particularly durable.
This rock owes its popularity to its extraordinary resistance to weather conditions, high compressive strength and extraordinary hardness. It is insensitive to frost and road s alt, with no blooms. The stone practically does not require impregnation. Each machine-hewn or hand-hewn block or cube is unique with a unique color and structure.These parameters change depending on what minerals the rock consists of (e.g. the harder , the more quartz it has).
Granite is available, among others in the form of cubes, blocks, grit, slabs and is suitable for laying floors, paths, driveways, as well as walls and stairs. retaining walls, rockeries and paths.For the construction of communication routes, it is best to choose blocks with a rough surface, unpolished.
A small cube with a side of 8 cm (and smaller), called a mosaic cube, works well as a binder filling the gaps between large stones. It is also an excellent finishing material.One ton of cubes should be enough to lay about 8 m² of surface.A cube with a side of 8-11 cm, classified as small, is intended for paths and terraces, a ton of such material is sufficient for laying approx.5 m². Any other cube larger than the above-mentioned ones is classified as large and is used primarily for climbs.
Granite in Poland
In Poland, granite deposits are located mainly in Lower Silesia, and the largest production of this raw material is carried out in the Strzegom and Sobótka region. It is the granite from this deposit that can be found on the Market Square in Wrocław, at metro stations in Berlin, on the Warsaw W-Z route.It is this rock that was used to make the Sigismund III Vasa column at Castle Square in Warsaw.
Granite is mined in quarries with diamond saws, by cutting blocks with diamond ropes, by drilling a series of closely spaced holes forming a fissure, and in some cases with explosives.Granites are igneous rocks formed deep inside the earth's crust, which later, as a result of geological processes, were raised closer to the surface, from where they can be mined.
Polish granites from the vicinity of Strzegom are very old, their age is estimated at 280 million years.As they cooled closer to the ground, the granite contracted, which resulted in a network of parallel cracks invisible to the naked eye, called a blow. To Thanks to these cracks, an experienced rock scaler is able to determine how to extract the largest and most regular blocks of rock.
One ton of such cubes is enough to lay about 3 m². Paving is not difficult as long as you have the time and patience. For some practice, start with the simplest forms. As a standard, the cube is placed on a 20-30 cm substructure made of a load-bearing layer of aggregate and sand bedding.Compact each layer separately with a compactor, keeping the surface inclination of approx. 2%, necessary for water drainage.
So if the stone path is 100 cm wide, the difference in height between one edge and the other should be 2 cm. Place the cubes in rows with 3-5 mm spacing.Finally, fill the joints with sand and silt the entire surface, then compact with a compactor towards the center of the path.
