weights of stone.
Stone is heavy! Limestone is also very porous, and when we carve it, we wet it too, and that makes it even heavier. It’s always very difficult to estimate the weight of a stone fireplace when we come to deliver, as the water content can be very considerable and can add a great deal of weight. Our delivery drivers are pretty good judges though and they know that a freshly cut stone fireplaces can weigh half as much again as a completely dry one. When limestone is freshly cut it is also quite delicate, and it needs exposure to the air to make it dry out and harden. In an unheated building this can take some time.
All stones are porous to some extent, and even the harder stones that we use for external work, or the stones we use for a stone staircase for example, all hold some water retained from the cutting process, and need some time to dry out.
The water can also darken the stone, and a stone fireplace or set of stone stairs will not take on their full, natural colour until completely dried out. If your stone work is in a heated building then this process will be considerably quicker, but in any case it does not matter, the drying out does not ‘hurt’ the stone.
In fact the gradual changing in shade and the consequent revealing of the swirls and texture of the stone is quite a fascinating thing to watch…… if you have nothing else to do!