The possibilities for incorporating natural stone into environmentally friendly projects are endless.

The desire to choose environmentally responsible products is driving an increasing number of decisions today, yet many fail to realize the full potential of natural stone as a sustainable product. In 2014, the industry established a third-party verified certification program to ensure environmental best practices are followed in natural stone quarrying and fabrication. Now that decision-makers can look for the Certified Genuine Stone label to identify sustainably produced natural stone, the possibilities for incorporating this product into environmentally-friendly projects are endless. Some designers are exploring the boundaries of creativity in how they incorporate sustainably produced natural stone into their projects. The following examples demonstrate some of the most eye-catching designs for incorporating natural stone into an eco-friendly design.

New Life in Natural Stone Remnants

Adjacent Possible, incorporates three massive blocks of Rainbow® granite and a stainless-steel pipe design that defines the space above the plaza in an open-ended dance.

One of the most widely known principles of environmental stewardship is that of eliminating waste by using every part of the material. This means finding a use for everything that is extracted or quarried, even post-production remnants from fabrication. Environmentally responsible designers find creative ways to incorporate odds and ends into new designs.

In a creative twist on repurposing, remnant pieces of stone from a quarry became sculptural elements in a landscape design at the University of Minnesota.

In a creative twist on repurposing, remnant pieces of stone from a quarry became sculptural elements in a landscape design at the University of Minnesota. The landscape designer was tasked with creating a space outside the University’s new Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building. After visiting the stone fabricator’s facility, the designer hand selected uniquely shaped remnants from a recent fabrication.

The resulting design, named Adjacent Possible, incorporates three massive blocks of Rainbow® granite and a stainless steel pipe design that defines the space above the plaza in an open-ended dance. Rainbow granite also appears in the form of pavers surrounding the sculptural elements.

According to the landscape designer, the work’s title comes from a term in the book Investigations by the theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman. Kauffman postulates that life and environment co-construct the biosphere by continually moving into what he calls the adjacent possible—the new that is most possible given current conditions.

Sculptural Significance

A 100-percent sustainable project, the Riverside Roundabout was designed with 100% utilization of the granite slabs being used to create the eggs, with the remaining parts of the slab creating a stone border.

Across the country in Los Angeles, CA, the Riverside Roundabout incorporates natural stone into a creative design to help control the impacts of smog and storm water runoff. The roundabout’s centerpiece provides an artistic experience through nine egg-shaped stone sculptures constructed of Academy Black® granite locally sourced from a quarry in California. Measuring eight to twelve feet tall, the sculptures feature randomly chosen faces of individuals from the community. The granite supplier selected and cut the slabs with CNC cutting equipment to provide full utilization of the slab.

Measuring 8 to 12 feet tall, the sculptures feature randomly chosen faces of individuals from the community.

The roundabout also serves as a storm water bioretention landscape with the capacity to capture and treat a 10-year rainfall event (500,000 gallons) from an adjacent bridge and roadways. The system also includes a 25,000 gallon cistern supplying a water feature as well as a solar tracking photovoltaic system powering irrigation, lighting, and the artwork. A 100% sustainable project, the Riverside Roundabout was designed with full utilization of the granite slabs being used to create the eggs, with the remaining parts of the slab creating a stone border around the roundabout.

Natural stone projects in the future will incorporate creativity and sustainability in their designs as more and more decision makers realize the full possibilities of natural stone. Like the landscape at the University of Minnesota, perhaps we can all create a new biosphere by moving into the adjacent possible space—combining creativity with environmentally responsible designs. For more information about how natural stone helps meet sustainability goals, contact me at kspanier@coldspringusa.com.

About Coldspring

Since 1898, Coldspring has served the architectural, memorial, residential and industrial markets with all types of natural stone, bronze, and industrial and diamond-tooling products.  With headquarters, a primary manufacturing facility and bronze foundry in Cold Spring, Minn., the company has over 700 employees at operations across the country, including 30 quarries and multiple fabrication facilities. In 2016, the company’s headquarters, primary manufacturing operations and three Minnesota-based quarries received ANSI/NSC 373 Sustainable Production of Natural Dimension Stone certification. In 2018 their South Dakota based quarry achieved certification as well. Coldspring’s in-house services and support such as drafting, design, BIM, and project and construction management contribute to creating unique customer solutions. To learn more about Coldspring, visit www.coldspringusa.com.

TAGS:  sustainability remnants design inspire kathy spanier

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

TAGS:  remnants selecting fabrication design inspire artistic tile

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

Jet Mist firebox. Photo courtesy of Ripano Stoneworks.

While most homeowners consider natural stone for large projects, such as countertops or fireplace surrounds, small spaces throughout the home can also benefit from natural stone applications.

From shower curbs and shelving to adding natural stone in laundry rooms and closets, designers and homeowners are finding more ways to bring Mother Nature indoors in unique and interesting ways.

Whether it’s marble, travertine, granite, or limestone, natural stone has elevated small spaces into focal points. In some cases, the natural stone application in small spaces has even provided a solution when presented with a unique design challenge, says Laura Grandlienard of ROCKin’teriors in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Often-Overlooked Spaces to Incorporate Natural Stone

At first blush, it may not be obvious where a homeowner might be able to use smaller pieces of natural stone. Taking the time to consider where those details can be easily added can make a strong statement in a small space.

The shower curb, the space that serves as a border between the floor of the shower pan and the bathroom floor, usually doesn’t come to mind as an area to use natural stone but it’s one spot Grandlienard often recommends to clients. Not only does the curb serves an important function, it makes the space look richer. Another often-overlooked space to use natural stone is as a wall cap of a shower wall or as a seat in the shower.

Remnant stone used as a shower curb. Photo courtesy of Ripano Stoneworks.

Not every application needs to be visible in a main room to brighten up one’s day. Even small laundry rooms and closets can get a natural stone treatment. A child’s closet might have five drawers and could use a small piece on top to add some smaller pieces or toys, for example. A small laundry room could benefit from a natural stone top for folding laundry. Or, you might have a space where your perfume is located or you place your watch at the end of a day. All of these small areas can be made more visually interesting through the use of natural stone.

In other cases, the use of natural stone in a small space is more about function than aesthetic but it ends of doing double-duty. Sometimes a stunning piece of natural stone in the small space will work. In other cases, incorporating natural stone is an easy and beautiful way to add an interesting detail to a space or put to use extra stone from another project.

What Kinds of Natural Stone Works Well In Smaller Spaces

Photo courtesy of Rockin’teriors.

Grandlienard notes that she’s used every kind of natural stone imaginable when it comes to both large and small projects, whether it’s marble, travertine, granite, or limestone.

Popular stones include Calacatta Gold, but she admits that it really depends on the project more than the stone. If a design has any kind of white in it, perhaps a white marble would work better than a darker stone, for example. “If it’s gray or white, look for great white remnant pieces,” she advises.

In some cases, like the exterior kitchen window shelf example, the natural stone would need to be able to handle outdoor climates. Otherwise, any natural stone can work within a home.

Remnants: Adding Natural Stone with Sustainability in Mind

Photo courtesy of Ripano Stoneworks.

One of the great things about using remnants is that you’re being sustainable and mindful of the earth’s resources, Grandlienard says. “It’s about being eco-friendly and that’s very powerful because you’re utilizing and you’re saving our footprint by utilizing all these [remnants],” she adds. It’s not something most people think about, she admits, but wishes they would.

By adding extra natural stone components into projects, she’s able to not only use material they have available, but the longevity of the material can make it cost-effective in the long-run and increase a home’s beauty and value, too. It’s not much more square feet from a fabricator standpoint, so from a builder or a homeowner standpoint, they just have to prep the wall, for example. But, is it cost efficient?

“I think over time it is because you’re not having to regrout and you’ve got a piece of Mother Nature to view every day,” Grandlienard says.

Luise Blue table. Ripano Stoneworks.

The benefits of using remnant stone in small spaces throughout the home can’t be overemphasized and it’s as easy and simple as having a discussion with your designer or contractor on what could be done with any extra pieces of natural stone being used in a particular project. They often can help you think about applications that might otherwise never have been considered.

Also, by talking with your design team from the beginning, the contractors can be more mindful of how they cut the natural stone so it doesn’t get destroyed in the process since there is a strong possibility that it can actually be used for something else, too. It won’t do anyone any good to see broken and smaller pieces of natural stone that could’ve been applied somewhere if the installers knew there was another possible purpose to the extra raw material.

Using natural stone in small and unique spaces throughout one’s home doesn’t usually come top of mind when designing spaces, but it’s a smart and easy way to make one’s living quarters richer while also increasing the value of your home.

TAGS:  design remnants residential inspire sustainability megy karydes

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

It is estimated that 170 million tons of construction debris is produced every year in the U.S. alone¹. An average home construction project creates 8,000 pounds of waste per every 2,000 square foot of house². Much of this waste is made up of the building materials. In order to keep more materials out of overflowing landfills, the materials are subject to regulations at the local, state and federal level, making it even more appealing to consider finding alternative uses for remnants.

Ways to Reduce Waste

Several key steps should be taken to reduce waste before it is even generated. You or your project team should be prepared to ask a number of key questions during every stage of the project.

• What can be done at the beginning of the design process to address waste? Plan well by designing the project in detail before finalizing any orders. Computer modeling and programs like Building Information Modeling (BIM) can keep accurate records of materials needed for the specific design and will revise the amounts when a change is made in the BIM model.
• Are there any design strategies that would help ensure that only the exact amounts of a material needed for a project are ordered? Use standard and consistent measurements and sizes on a project whenever possible. This will contribute tremendously to less waste, because the stone will be easier to fabricate and simplifies the packaging of the material. The project will also be easier to construct.
• How can using one type of stone reduce waste? Different looks can be achieved by simply applying different finishes to the same stone, which will reduce the amount of stone that needs to be quarried and fabricated.
• What type and how much packaging is necessary to complete an order? Coordinate with the supplier to reduce the amount of packaging that is used or needed for the stone. Packaging should also be recyclable whenever possible.
• What can be done with any leftover stone? Some stone suppliers have buy-back policies. Be sure to ask about this in advance to know what your options are for returning unused stone.
• Where is the best place to finish the stone? When a stone is finished off-site in advance of arriving at a job site, this helps to reduce and eliminate waste. Any time a contractor has to finish or further cut materials onsite, this will cause waste. Ask to have as many of the finishing and details done offsite before the materials arrive on the project site.
• How can the stone remnants be used? Stone remnants, whether large or small, can be created into accent pieces or support another design element.

There are a few additional things you should consider before you decide to work with remnants. Your choices of stone types may be limited if you want to work with remnants. However, stone remnants, including granite, quartzite, marble, limestone, travertine, and many others, can be found at stone yards or fabricators in various shapes, sizes and quantities. They tend to be small pieces, so that may limit what can be done with them or how they can be used. The stone might be damaged, perhaps with scratches that came from saws, grinders, or from being outside and exposed to wind, rain, and the elements. Some of these issues can be resolved through further cutting or polishing, or eliminating those pieces from the project. Make sure to ask for the highest quality remnants so you can be assured that the end result will be of a high quality as well. This approach to using remnants can also save money, since many companies will offer discounts on these materials that would otherwise go to waste.

Granite remnants at a stone yard available for selection and fabrication.

Remnants are often turned into smaller decorative objects or feature elements such as a tabletop, backsplash, cutting board, small countertop, mosaics, or a fireplace hearth. How about a unique, one of a kind, bowl sink made from a leftover block of stone? Even something as simple as a window sill, shower threshold, or bench can be made using stone remnants. Landscape elements including patios, fire pits, grill surrounds, planters, and paving are great for outdoor applications with the appropriate stone remnant chosen for the environment and conditions. Remnants also offer wonderful opportunities to create rooms and spaces that flow together with elements in other spaces and the materials, colors, and patterns will be coordinated across the stone palette.

Simple, elegant indoor uses for stone remnants including a vanity countertop, backsplash, and a bowl sink.

Stone planters, a grill surround and a combination retaining wall and bench made from stone remnants.

 

How Natural Stone Remnants Can Help with LEED Certifications

The LEED Rating system offers approaches to reducing construction waste for many different project types seeking Certification. Project designers and teams can achieve points in two different categories, essentially in the planning and management of waste. The LEED category Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning is a Prerequisite, meaning that it is required for the specific LEED project type for which Certification is being sought. The intent is to reduce construction and demolition waste that would otherwise end up in landfills and incineration facilities by planning for it. The goal is to recover, reuse, and recycle materials instead. Project teams need to develop waste diversion goals by identifying at least five materials (both structural and nonstructural) that are targeted for diversion that is based on a percentage of the overall project waste. You must also specify whether the materials will be separated or commingled and describe the diversion strategies planned for the project. So instead of natural stone ending up in a landfill, this plan could help you identify other ways to use the stone either in your current or future project.

After the plan is created, the approach to handling the waste must be managed.  This is addressed in the Construction and Demolition Waste Management LEED Category.  The intent is the same as the Planning category. However, the requirements are to recycle and/or salvage nonhazardous construction and demolition materials. Calculations can be by weight or volume but must be consistent throughout the process. There are different options for achieving these credits including diversion or reduction of the total waste material.

Partial LEED Checklist for New Construction and Major Renovation projects showing Materials and Resources credits.

It is important to coordinate the LEED credits with other team members and even the stone supplier and installer so that everyone does their part to support the process. Early communication, coordination and again, planning, are key to making these credits achievable. Since the materials being recycled or diverted have to be weighed or measured, develop a coordination and communication plan with everyone involved in those areas of responsibility to ensure that appropriate containers are provided and necessary documentation that has to be submitted is understood and completed in the timeframe required.

Many different patterns and configurations can be achieved using stone remnants for outdoor paths and paving.

Natural stone remnants offer endless opportunities for creative uses in your next project. Just ask and you will be amazed at what is possible, given a little imagination. It may lead you down a whole new path that you had not considered before.

Additional Resources

LEED Rating System
US Green Building Council

Endnotes

1. S. EPA.gov
2. Green Building Elements

TAGS:  selecting remnants installation educate sustainability stephanie vierra

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

This article was reprinted with permission from MARVA.

When a natural stone installation project is complete, many fabricators stockpile remnants that are too small for countertops, but large enough that they’d go to waste if not properly utilized.  These remnants can be used in many different ways throughout the home.

Remnants from natural stone installs present an opportunity for creative applications that go beyond the countertop. These remnants give fabricators an opportunity for additional projects, and homeowners a deal on additional stone pieces to be featured throughout their home. There is an exciting array of unique, tasteful ways to use stone remnants to carry the luxury of natural stone throughout different rooms in the home.

A Guide to Natural Stones

Maintenance for natural stone varies based its type and application. Since some stones can be more prone to damage than others, it’s important to be deliberate about the environment remnants are installed in. Below is a brief guide to some of the most popular natural stones and their features:

Granite

As the go-to for beautiful, durable, natural stone, granite can withstand water, mild abrasions, and heavy traffic with low maintenance. This stone type is ideal for kitchens, since heat, sharp objects, and water do not easily damage it. Flooring, shower surrounds, and fireplace surrounds are also excellent applications for granite, since it can stand up to regular heat, water, and weight. When using remnants, granite can be used for just about any application.

Marble

This stone exudes elegance and sophistication. Interior accents, such as tabletops, staircase handrails, and bathroom vanities, are all perfect for showcasing the luxury of the stone. Marble can also bring timeless grandeur along walls and chair rails, or to the kitchen in backsplashes.

Quartzite

Quartzite is an increasingly popular countertop option for homeowners. This stone is naturally strong and heat-resistant, making it ideal for countertops, bartops, and fireplace surrounds.

Travertine

Formed in hot springs and limestone caves, travertine’s textured and fibrous appearance wraps its surroundings in natural warmth. Since travertine is easy to cut, it is ideal for backsplashes and flooring, especially when working to fill a small or uniquely-shaped space.

Onyx

Onyx is a stunning choice for areas illuminated with backlighting, since the stone filters the light in an extraordinary way. Onyx’s natural glow is best used to make a statement in illuminated in-set shelves in a bathroom or living room.

Limestone

Often considered the mother of marble, travertine, and onyx, limestone’s presence throughout history makes it the ultimate choice for modern day homes seeking old world charm. Since it’s dense and durable, limestone is an excellent option for flooring, countertops, and wall cladding.

Soapstone

Soapstone’s flat, warm beauty offers a soft and rustic appearance. Since its finish is honed or leathered rather than polished, the surface of soapstone is quite durable. Soapstone is also acid resistant, making it a popular choice for kitchens or bar tops. This stone looks especially stunning on a desktop or tabletop, bringing elegance throughout different social spaces within the home.

Ideas for Repurposing Large Natural Stone Remnants

Tabletops

A custom tabletop is perfect for extending luxury stone, and can give life to an old piece of furniture. Depending on how much of the slab remains, consider using your remnants to top a coffee table, matching side tables, the top to a sofa table, or the top to an entryway table where a plant or vase could be displayed.

Kitchen islands

Leftover fragments from a stone install fit beautifully into a kitchen island, creating a striking “wow” factor. This is a great way to upcycle old material that is already cut into a rectangular shape, with minimal refinishing required!

Bar or buffet tops

Planning to entertain after your remodel is finished? Consider utilizing remnants to top a luxury buffet, serving table, or bar top to create a high-end look that is perfect for your next soiree.

Bathroom vanity

Since bathroom vanities – especially those used in half or guest bathrooms – are much smaller than kitchens, they make an excellent choice for using remnants to help create a consistent aesthetic of luxury and style throughout the home.

Windowsills

Older windowsills can detract from the high-end, luxury aesthetic usually achieved with the installation of natural stone countertops. Implementing fresh granite or marble windowsills would be a perfect detail to complete any remodel.

Ideas for Repurposing Smaller Remnants

Backsplashes

Slab remnants can be cut down and shaved to become thinner for use as backsplashes in kitchens or bathrooms. If you have scraps from several products, consider cutting them down and matching coordinating stones for a mosaic design. This solution would be best used in bathrooms, where the backsplash would simply be a small strip between the countertop and the vanity mirror.

Cheese boards

This is one of the most popular uses of remnants, as it is an impressive statement piece that requires little material. The homeowner can envision inviting company over to see their gorgeous new bathroom or kitchen, and serving artfully arranged cheese on their perfectly coordinated cutting board!

Coasters and trivets

Cutting down leftover material to coaster or trivet size is both functional and beautiful.  By discovering new functions for old surfaces, fabricators can offer a thrifty, environmentally-friendly way to use slab remnants.

Environmental Benefits of Natural Stone

A major selling point for repurposing natural stone remnants is reducing the amount of product that goes to waste. Making use of every bit of stone that has already been quarried and transported ensures that there are no extra costs associated with shipping new surfaces for furniture. Plus, repurposing natural stone remnants is a great way to coordinate the design of a home from room to room.

Since natural stone is recyclable, remnants can also be crushed and re-used in the construction industry. Using recycled stone can save the water, energy, and other resources used to generate new building products from raw material sources. Recycled marble and granite are frequently used to make paving stones, fire pits, and mosaic tile, offering plenty of opportunities to make the most of what the Earth has provided. Smaller pieces can also be used as gravel fill or concrete aggregate. Similarly, in a powder form, natural stone can be used in fertilizer or as a sidewalk bed as the minerals like calcium and magnesium are vital nutrients for soil and plant life.

The durability of stone guarantees minimal impact on the environment overtime, as stone outlasts other manufactured products, therefore fewer slabs need to be quarried, finished, delivered, and cut, resulting in a lower net usage of resources.

With the beauty and popularity of genuine natural stone, homeowners will surely want to make the most of every slab!

TAGS:  selecting remnants residential fabrication inspire marva

SIMILAR ARTICLES: