The stone comes from the Recent Red Sandstone, which is of Devonian age. It has the characteristic of being very finely grained. It's dark grey in color and it can weather to a lighter fawn shade. It's a terribly sturdy stone, though its resistance to air pollution and acidic moisture isn't significantly good.
As a type of sandstone it has a surprisingly high resistance to flexing. This makes it suitable for areas that are heavily trafficked where there is a heap of wear and tear. It can resist salty environments well and has been used effectively in harbour walls and as the building material in houses situated shut to the stormy northeast Scottish coast where salt spray is often within the air.
Devonian House in Halkirk, a few miles south of Thurso in the northeast of Scotland, could be a very sensible example of how the timeless fantastic thing about Caithness flagstone can be place to use. The stone has been used to build the house walls and skinny sections of flagstone have been used as slate for the roof.
The garden wall is also created from this versatile stone. The wall contains no mortar, being engineered in an exceedingly traditionally patterned manner. Inside the house the true aesthetic qualities of this superb stone come to life. It is utilized in a highly polished type as a kitchen worktop, and as tiles on the bathroom floor.
Maybe the most spectacular use of the stone in Devonian House is in the entrance hall floor where the flagstones are interspersed with o.k beams. The impact is extremely impressive.
As early as 1793 this stone that has taken some 400 million years for nature to perfect was being exported from the northeast of Scotland to all or any over the world. The town of Boston within the USA, for example, had its streets paved with the timeless great thing about Caithness flagstone.
One of the great advantages to be gained from this outstanding stone is the actual fact that it's just about maintenance free. It's been described as indestructible, and that's indeed close to the truth. It stands up extraordinarily well to the extremes of temperature and humidity, making it appropriate to be used just regarding anywhere in the world.
When Scotland engineered its parliament building in Edinburgh they wanted the most effective materials. The northeast corner of Scotland supplied each of the two main types of stone used: Kemnay Granite from Aberdeenshire and also the famous flagstone from Caithness.
In fact, wherever you discover vital prestigious buildings you are also probably to search out beautiful, timeless Caithness flagstone. As an example, it can be found in the British Memorial Garden in New York and also the within the Belfast Concert Hall, also in dozens of different well known places.
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