🔍For more than 2 years, JuraLimestone GmbH has been operating in Russia. We can say that we are still at the very beginning of our journey. At the same time, we have gained interesting and unique experience participating in projects, both on building facades and in interior finishing. We have already had our first victories and first failures, although as the wise say, any experience is valuable; the main thing is to draw conclusions in a timely manner.
One of the main conclusions we had to draw is the need for a solid evidence base regarding the warranty of the stone's durability. This issue concerns literally all participants in the construction process, from the architect to the client themselves.
In accordance with the current regulations (GOST 13377-2014, EN 12371, etc.), the durability of building materials in general and natural stone in particular is defined as the property (ability) of the material or product to retain the required mechanical, operational, and aesthetic properties until a limit state defined by the operating conditions of the structure. Durability is a comprehensive construction property of facing stone; it serves as the most important criterion for the selection and evaluation of the material, combining a range of physical, mechanical, chemical, petrological, and other properties.
The quantitative assessment of durability is the service life of the stone (in years) from its initial condition to the appearance of signs of deterioration.
Currently, there are several main factors that negatively affect natural stone and determine its durability.
Here is just a small part of the factors that influence the durability of natural stone; in reality, there are many more. Therefore, the lifespan of the same type of stone in different operating conditions can vary significantly. For example, the durability of Jura Limestone when used as a cladding material on a ventilated facade differs by tens of times from that of the same Jura Limestone used as paving material. Even the bottom row of stone on the building's plinth is subjected to significant external influences, unlike a standard facade element. This is why the correct choice of material (layer and statistics on it) and selection are so important.
Visual examples of stone durability
Here is an example of the destruction of the basement part of the building due to incorrect stone selection. In this case, one can only guess what caused this destruction. Considering that the structure was built in 2010 and the damage has been recorded at the current time, it is likely that a stone intended for interior finishing (also beige in color) was chosen and installed on the facade.
🔍Below you can see another object built in 2004. As can be seen from the photographs, the base stone of the first row looks acceptable, although some elements are located in the area of the car entrance to the underground parking.
🔍Additionally, durability can be adjusted with design solutions that reduce the load on the stone. For example, raising the base stone above the ground to prevent possible capillary suction from below.
🔍The durability significantly depends on the sizes of architectural details, primarily on their thickness: it has been established that with an increase in thickness, the service life of the stone increases in direct proportion.
Fine-grained granites and gabbros lead in durability class, with a lifespan that can reach 600 years. Dense limestones like Jura Limestone typically have a lifespan of 60 to 150 years.