Granite Tiles

For a multitude of reasons, granite tiles are topping the rank of the favorite building materials used in residential, industrial, and commercial building constructions. If one has to trace the roots of granite, he or she will learn that it is a volcanic rock that has been shaped out of immense heat and pressure. The rocks’ appearances are naturally unique thanks to the crystalline image that is innate in it. Granite is basically a natural stone reputed for its being the hardest as well as the densest.

The granite tiles are cut, shaped, and polished on one side. Though they may be hard, their surfaces are smooth and nice to the touch. Being hard and durable, the granite tiles are often employed in household applications such as flooring materials, kitchen top equipments, and wall foundations.

When the aesthetic sense becomes a major concern, granite tiles top the list. As you enter any edifice, you will usually see granite tiles used as the flooring materials. At home, granite tiles usually greet you as you go over a glimpse of the kitchen. The popularity and wide use of granite tiles are increasing up to this day. Modernity speaks for itself, and when beauty combined with durability tops the list of priorities, granite tiles come into play.

When deciding on a makeover for the kitchen, granite tiles can’t be beat. They are able to bear a tremendous amount of heat, moisture, and pressure. When you are bored with vinyl for your bathroom floors, you can always opt to replace them with granite tiles.

Among the rest of the components that comprise the whole of the kitchen, it is the kitchen countertop that receives the worst abuse. Such abuse includes hot pots that are placed on top, sharp kitchen utensils’ scratches, and the use of abrasive cleansers are the usual woes that form part of the kitchen counter’s major concerns.

The design, hue, and style of granite tiles, especially when thoroughly polished, affix more aesthetic value to the surface. The granite tiles are of various thicknesses, depending on the purpose it fulfills, and are suitable for varied applications.

Granite provides detailed information on Granite, Granite Countertops, Granite Tiles, Marble and Granite and more. Granite is affiliated with Granite Tile Countertops.

An Introduction to Granite Rocks

Granites are widely occurring felsic, intrusive and igneous type of rocks. The texture of granite is medium to coarse, rarely with some crystals bigger than the groundmass forming rock which is called as porphyry. Granites are found in different colors like pink, dark gray, green, yellow, red or sometimes even in black and gold depending upon its mineralogy and chemistry. Sometimes Granites occur in circular depressions encircled by a series of hills that are formed by the metamorphic hornfels. Granites are often massive lacking internal structures. They are tough, hard and it has gained widespread use for constructive purposes. 2.75g/cm3 is the average density of granite. If you look at the word 'granite', it comes from the Latin word 'granum' which is a grain, in reference to its coarse grained constitution.

According to a scientific diagram, Granites are classified for coarse grained plutonic rocks - granitoids and it is named based upon the percentage of quartz, alkali feldspar - sanidine, orthoclase or microcline. Granite like rocks which are silica under saturated might have a feldspathoid such as nepheline. According to modern petrologic, true granite contains both alkali feldspars and plagioclase. When a granitoid lacks or almost lacks plagioclase the rock is said to be alkali granite. If the granitoid carries <10% of orthoclase, then it is called tonalite. Amphibole and Pyroxene are common in tonalite. Granites that have both biotite micas and muscovite are called two-mica or binary granite. Typically two-mica granites are low in plagioclase and higher in potassium; A-type or S-type granites. Rhyolite is a volcanic equivalent of plutonic granite.

Presently Earth is the only place Granites are known to form a main part of continental crust. Often granites occur as relatively small, less than 100 km² of stock masses and also in batholiths which are associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Smaller dikes of granite compositions are known as aplites and are often linked with margins of granite intrusions. In some places along with granites, very coarse grained pegmatite masses occur. Granites have been intruded into Earth's crust during all geologic periods like earthquakes, although most of it has happened in the Precambrian age. Granite rocks are distributed widely throughout the Earth's continental crust and it is the most abundant basement rocks which underlies the relatively thin sedimentary layer of the continents.

In spite of being fairly common across the globe, the places with the most commercial granite quarries are located in Norway, Sweden - Bohuslän, Finland, Northern Portugal in Chaves, Spain mostly in Galicia and Extremadura, India Brazil and several other countries in southern Africa, such as Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Today granites are widely used in making luxury floors, kitchen tables, office tables, bath rooms and tubs.

Brayan Peter is an expert author for Granite Countertops in Houston. He written many articles like Houston Granite Countertops, Granite Houston, Granite Texas, Granite New Orleans and Marble Countertops. For more information visit our site. Contact me at brayan.peter@gmail.com