By John Reid Blackwell
The use of architectural stone is on the rise.
But exactly how much is produced and sold in the U.S. is difficult to pinpoint because the industry is fragmented and many companies are privately held and don’t report sales data.
A large part of the growth is tied to the use of architectural stone for countertops, said Michael Reis, editor and associate publisher of Stone World magazine.
Stone World said the typical price customers paid for kitchen countertops in 2006 was about $60 per square foot. The average countertop is about 60 square feet, making the cost about $3,600 for a typical one.
Marvin Daniel, president of KDW Home, a Richmond kitchen and interior-design company, said $60 a square foot is probably only the cost of the stone. The cost of installing a typical stone countertop, including crafting the stone, would be more like $110 to $140 per square foot, making the cost of a typical 36-square-foot countertop about $4,000 to $5,000.
“I think [customers] need to make sure they pick stone they love, because it is too expensive not to love,” Daniel said. “Pick one that you can live with for a long time, and you are not likely to change it.”
Prices can run much higher, as much as $5,000 per square foot, for rare materials such as gemstone slabs and unique designs.
Costs for architectural stone vary depending on how the stone is used (for countertops, floors, walls, fireplaces or walkways), what type of stone is used, where it is from and how the stone is cut or crafted.
For instance, prices for floor tiles and flagstones start at around $5 a square foot, said Mark Whitfield, product manager for Charles Luck Stone Centers.
While industry sales figures are hard to come by, Reis said import numbers for two popular types of natural stone - granite and marble - provide some idea of the growth.
From 2001 to 2006, granite imports grew by more than 300 percent, from $422 million to $1.49 billion, according to Stone World, which draws its figures from U.S. government import statistics.
Marble imports grew from $589 million in 2001 to $1.07 billion in 2006.
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Architectural stones
Granite: A popular stone with multiple uses. Often used for countertops. It is a very hard, dense stone, making it very durable. It is also available in a variety of colors - not just gray, but red, blue and green, too.
Limestone: A soft rock that can be used in interiors and exteriors. The colors are usually muted - creams and some pinks or rose colors and some grays and blues. A lot of floor tiles as well as building stones are made from limestone.
Marble: A great material for floor tiles. It’s not all white, but also comes in red, gray and gold tones. It also makes an excellent countertop, but it does require more care than granite because it is more porous and can easily be stained.
Sandstone: A soft stone used in a lot of flagstone and building stones. Offers a wide range of colors. The stone’s veining can be quite dramatic. Some of the coloration actually looks like wood, so sandstone is used in some floor plankings.
Travertine: A form of soft limestone. It usually has holes within the stone, but it is durable and often used in buildings for a rustic look. The color palettes are typically warm, earth tones, with lots of browns and creams.
Soapstone: Another soft stone, typically black or green in color. It is becoming popular again for countertops because of its distinctive look.
Onyx: A beautiful material which, if cut thin enough, is translucent, so it can be used on a wall that is backlit. Fairly fragile, so best used in interior settings. It is also more expensive than other stone, depending on its source.
Semiprecious: High-end and more expensive than other stone, it uses natural materials but is fabricated by hand using a variety of materials. Depending on the design, the stone may contain freshwater pearls, nautilus shells, amethyst, gems or other rare materials.

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch
Publication date: September 16, 2007