MARBLE AND STONE BACKYARDS

Quartz and quartzite are very popular options for outdoor usage, including many Long Island backyards. Both types of stone are beautiful, durable, and hold up to the four seasons of Long Island, which make it a popular choice. It’s important to understand that while these two stones sound similar, they also have their differences. Quartzite is a natural stone that is mined from quarries and sold in slabs. Quartz on the other hand is man-made. It’s an engineered stone made from ground quartz, resin, and pigment.

Granite is a stone used in many Long Island backyards. Granite is always in high demand because it’s synonymous with luxury. However, granite is not as resilient as quartzite. Granite countertops, for example, can easily be scratched, chipped, or have slight burn marks in them. If you have kids, granite is not something you want in the same house because of the potential for damage to your granite. If you have very mature, responsible children who are not going to cut a piece of fruit on your bare granite or set a hot pan on it, then granite is fine.

Likewise, you would not want to use granite is the primary rock for a patio floor. It is better suited to a decorative boarder or for use as a bar or island table. Special treatments can be applied to granite to protect it, but the treatments can be costly. Granite always has to be sealed and then resealed again in the future to continue protecting its beautiful finish.

The return on your investment in granite, whether you use it indoors or out, is significant only if the granite remains undamaged. You will have to decide if you can A) afford granite, and B) prevent the granite from being damaged until you sell your home. That’s not to say that you should shy away from it entirely. It’s just to make you aware of the fact that it is a high maintenance type of stone requiring a lot of preventive measures to preserve it.

Beautiful marble is another stone of choice for many Long Island homeowners. The idea of “marble halls” is something that brings to mind hallways and staircases in Heaven, as well as in mythological places of renown. Marble is in the construction of numerous government buildings and courthouses, hearkening back to Ancient Roman and Greek days where Tribunals and halls of justice were made from marble.

This beautiful stone can be a solid color, but the most prized marbles are the ones with swirling streaks of color and bits of minerals speckling it throughout. The most valuable of all marbles is Carrara marble, which comes from an Italian town of the same name. Having marble anywhere in your home or as part of your patio space outside is a symbol of wealth inasmuch as owning a very expensive luxury car is a symbol of wealth.

There are some downsides to marble, though. Out of granite, quartzite and marble, marble is the “softest” of the three. Even when it is sealed properly (like granite) it can still be scratched, scuffed, marred, carved, stained and burned worse than granite. Still, as an backyard slab installation, it can be amazingly beautiful. Columns made of marble can enhance a backyard patio in a very Roman-Greco decorative sort of way.

One additional feature of this type of stone to consider is that it does not heat up. It is a very dense stone that stays cool to the touch all the time, even if it is blazing hot outside. If you were to build an entire patio with columns out of marble in your yard, it would be a very comfortable place to relax any time of day or night because it wouldn’t retain the heat of the day. However, that also means that a freezing cold day makes the marble feel even colder, something you might not want if you entertain guests outdoors in the fall or winter.

In most cases the above stone slabs have multiple installation uses. This might include one or more of the following:

• Edging for BBQ Pits; marble is great for this because you will never burn yourself on the edge of the fire pit.
• Countertops for outdoor food prep; Quartzite is best because it will not show scratches from cutting instruments or any instrument dropped onto it by accident.
• Quality Pool Edging; granite is perfect because it is beautiful and there is little chance that it will be scratched as the edging of an in-ground pool. Its slightly rough texture keeps feet from slipping when wet, too.

If you are not sure what kind of stone to use for your yard project, ask the pros. They can help you pick the right kind of rock slab for your project needs.