Natural stone elements

This category groups natural stone elements that have a specific shape, cut or sawn from stone, to fulfil a particular function, such as sills, tablets, wall copings and quarry stones. Here we mainly group the elements that are placed in the wall structure or building envelope of buildings, but also less common products such as natural stone basins or façade decoration. For other elements made of natural stone, such as coping stones, floors or wall plates, see “Landscaping and paving” and “Interior finishings”.

Stone elements have good properties for reuse: they are usually very strong, have a nice finish and can be worked in different ways according to their new application (slight resizing, surface treatments, etc.). They also sometimes have a relatively neutral shape, which means they can be reused for different applications.

These elements can often be found at dealers specialising in natural stone, but sometimes also at demolition contractors. The offer is not the same everywhere and often reflects historical, regional characteristics (blue stone in Belgium, Burgundy stone in France, gritstone in the UK, etc.).

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Documentation

Window tablets

Tablets are rather thin and elongated slabs of natural stone, which are usually placed on a horizontal surface, usually under window openings, on chimneys or above radiators. They are typically made of marble or granite, or of bluestone or slate. Their supply on the reclamation market is variable, but these elements are also widely sold by private individuals on second-hand sites. Tablets are suitable for various applications, again as a tablet but also, for example, as wall covering. 

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Steps and sills

Door or window sills are elements that are placed at the bottom of a wall opening for water drainage. They can have many different shapes and dimensions. Their properties are determined by the type of stone they are made of, but also by the way in which they were originally manufactured. Window sills in particular have a very long lifespan. 

Steps made of natural stone, which typically come from low external staircases (as part of the exterior layout around a building, or public environments) are also available. 

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Wall copings

Natural stone elements are often used to cover the top of walls to protect them from rain and moisture. These wall copings exist in many shapes, sizes and materials (such as granite or various limestones) but are generally easy to find and reuse, again as a wall coping, but sometimes also as a threshold or step.

For ceramic wall copings, see 'Slates, roof tiles and wall copings'. 

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Rubble stones and blocks

Rubble stone refers to pieces of limestone that are relatively small (generally, they can be handled by hand). They can be completely rough (not cut), partially cut, or square (six surfaces more or less roughly cut). Blocks, on the other hand, are parallelepipedal elements that are usually a few sizes larger and can have different degrees of finish. Blocks and rubble stones usually come free during the demolition of walls and are often reused as such.

Other elements

The reuse market also includes a multitude of other elements in natural stone, more or less worked, and from various applications (keystones, pilasters, etc.). See also the category ‘Architectural antiques’.