There are a lot of modern building materials. It seems like every time you turn around a new composite artificial siding, roofing shingle, or insulation foam is being invented to improve the quality of our constantly modernizing energy-efficient homes. There are all sorts of trendy plastic, vinyl, and aluminum alternatives but don’t forget to consider the tried-and-true classics as well. Humans have been building out of stone for thousands of years and there’s a reason new buildings are still made out of these natural materials today: it works.
If you like the promise of low-maintenance, energy efficiency, and disaster resistance, all that plastic and vinyl can only do so much, and you’ll only wind up replacing it in five to seven years anyway. For a combination of sturdiness, beauty, and walls that can hold themselves up without a lot of extra care, look no further than masonry. Here are our top ten reasons to consider stone for your next project.
1) Strong and Reliable
Manmade materials have a certain amount of tensile strength, durability, and life span before they deteriorate but stone was made to last forever. When you build your home out of subtly blended local stone, your home will be much more structurally sound than one built out of nothing but beams and drywall.
2) Old-School Charm
We’ve been building out of stone for a very long time and many of out oldest and most beautiful buildings are still made out of stone that has lasted for centuries. When we build out of stone today, it brings back that old-school charm of courthouses, old-fashioned schools, and the first towns and homesteads built here. You can connect your new home or business to history with the charm of stone construction.
3) Won’t Burn, Blow, or Wash Away
Lightweight houses come with a certain collection of problems we’re all familiar with. A home that is both light and not well-anchored can be literally picked up and tossed like in the Wizard of Oz and large floods have been known to lift houses off foundations and dump them in a heap a few yards away. Even if your building catches fire, a stone structure will mean there is less material to burn and the building will be more easy to recover once the fire is out.
4) Remarkably Vermin-Proof
Homes made mostly of wood can become soft and permeable for small pests like termites, carpenter ants, mice, and roaches. Masonry, on the other hand, cannot be gnawed through by little organic-material-eaters and is, therefore, better at keeping your home or business free of vermin.
5) Doesn’t Rot
Another benefit of building out of stone is that it doesn’t rot. It doesn’t become brittle in dry climates, nor does it become soft and rot in excessive humidity. This means that masonry buildings are more likely to survive extreme temperatures and climates without structural decay.
Join us next time for part two where we’ll finish our ten favorite reasons to build out of stone. For more information or a consultation on the right stone solution for contact us your next project, contact us today!
