Difference between revisions of "Flagstone"

Latest revision as of 09:19, 20 September 2010

Flagstone, or flag, is a type of generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may also be used for making memorials, headstones, facades and many construction projects. ^[1]

The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.^[2]

Composition and quarrying

Flagstone is a sedimentary rock that is split into layers along bedding planes. Flagstone is usually a form of a sandstone composed of feldspar and quartz and is arenaceous in grain size (.16mm - 2mm in diameter). The material that binds flagstone is usually composed of silica, calcite, or iron oxide. The color of the rock usually comes from these cementing materials. Typical colors of flagstone are red, blue, and buff, though exotic colors, exist.^[1]

Flagstone can be quarried in places containing bedded sedimentary rocks with fissile bedding planes. Examples include Arizona flagstone and Pennsylvania Bluestone.

Flagstone in medieval European architecture

Around the thirteenth century ceilings, walls and floors began to become more ornate in European architecture. Anglo-Saxons in particular often used flagstones as flooring materials in the interior rooms of castles and other structures.^[3] Numerous examples of buildings in Europe may be found that have surviving rooms of this form. For example, Lindisfarne Castle in England and Muchalls Castle (14th century) in Scotland have such flooring components.

See also

• Stone wall
• Step-stone bridge
• Patio
• Pavement
• Stone mason

References

fr:Lauze (pierre) nl:Flagstone

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} What is Flagstone?
2. ↑ Etymology of Flag
3. ↑ Williams, Henry Smith (1910). A history of science, Volume 9, p. 154. Harper Brothers, New York and London.