The Irish Blue Limestone has a very consolidate positioning in the global market, summing up centuries of traditional usage in Ireland and other Northern Europe countries. In the present days, this limestone has an incredibly high demand, mostly due to its versatility, which allows for a huge range of finishings. Below, we present the most requested ones.
With a long background history, the Irish Blue Limestone is considered to be a combat stone, due to its high durability and versatile features. It is also known for its exceptional uniform background and consistent grey colour, which proportionate a very clean and neutral appearance. Additionally, it presents occasional signs of shells and medium to thick grain. Despite this incredible versatility, the Irish Blue Limestone is frequently used in exterior projects, mostly in cladding, flooring and covering applications. In the global market, the Irish Limestone has an extraordinary presence, with competitive prices and an outstanding demand, mostly because of its direct and affordable competition towards the well-known Petit Granit from Belgium. Moreover, this multi-faceted limestone can be found in basically all types of applications and it can accept about any kind of finishing. Here’s an extensive list with the most popular ones.
Honed
One of the most popular finishings for the Irish Limestone is the honed technique, which highlights the natural elements of the stone – shells, fossils and coloured spots. The original colour is also enhanced, turning into a deep and intense dark grey. Additionally, the honed background is quite uniform, plain and dull. Despite being recommended for about everything, this finishing is commonly used on interior flooring and exterior cladding applications.
Main Features: Uniform background; matte surface; natural elements; persistent dark grey colour.
Top Applications: Interior flooring and exterior cladding.
Dry-Honed
The dry honed finishing is a technique executed similarly to the honed one but without water. The end result is a very uniform, pale and matte surface, where most of the core elements fade away. The original dark grey colour also loses intensity, as it becomes much lighter and uniform, somewhat resembling a concrete looking background. In terms of applications, the dry honed is mostly used on interior flooring and exterior cladding.
Main Features: Uniform background; matte surface; pale grey colour.
Top Applications: Interior flooring and exterior cladding.
Polished
This procedure is very similar to the honed technique, as it also enhances the natural elements of the stone, such as shells, some fossils and lighter/darker spots. The surface however, is quite shiny, very reflective, plain and durable. The natural colour becomes a little more powerful as well, through an intense and persistent dark grey. The polished finishing is highly recommended for interior projects, in which interior flooring is the most common preference.
Main Features: Uniform background; shiny and reflective surface; persistent dark grey colour.
Top Application: Interior flooring.
Bush-Hammered
With strong anti-slip properties, the bush-hammered is a well-known finishing for exterior applications in general, especially for flooring and paving. This technique generates uniformly distributed craters of different sizes over the surface, creating a quite rough and uniform background that is highly resistant and non-slip. On the other hand, the original elements, along with the dark grey colour are basically lost, giving place to a much lighter grey.
Main Features: Uniform background; rough and doted surface; pale grey colour.
Top Applications: Exterior flooring and paving.
Flamed and Brushed
Another great option for exterior projects, is the flamed and brushed combination, which creates a similar result to the flamed finishing but with a smoothening effect that makes the whole surface less abrasive. The background is quite uniform and rough, with non-slip properties and increased durability. Additionally, the colour turns into a dark grey with lighter variations. The most popular applications for the flamed-brushed finishing are exterior flooring and exterior cladding.
Main Features: Uniform background; rough surface; non-slip properties; persistent dark grey colour.
Top Applications: Exterior flooring and exterior cladding.
Split-Face
The split-fat finish is a procedure that creates parallel cuts into the stone, showing its interior along with some of the hardest parts too. This process creates an irregular but organized structure across the surface, which provides a very peculiar effect in certain applications, like exterior cladding, wall coverings and landscaping. This finishing preserves most of the stone’s natural elements. However, the dark grey colour loses some intensity, as it becomes rather pale.
Main Features: Irregular but organized surface; rough and lined surface; pale grey colour.
Top Application: Exterior cladding.
