Granite e used as a building material, as an architectural piece, as a decorative piece and in the creation of many other products, has centuries of history.
Granite is used in buildings, bridges, monuments, pavements and many other projects. Indoors it is used in balconies, as floor tiles or walls, staircases, columns and other decorative elements.
It is considered a prestigious material, used to project elegance and quality.
Below we present very interesting uses of granite and the most common ones.
Granite in monuments
From sculptures to grand palaces and castles, granite was used to build great internationally recognized monuments, such as Mount Rushmore, a national monument in South Dakota, United States of America. Or the Guimarães Castle, a national monument of Portugal, in the city of Guimarães.


Granite in sports
This sport is one of the fastest growing among Olympic sports, which has drawn attention to Curling but also to granite.
Curling stones weigh between 17 and 19 kilos and are made of granites with special physical properties. This granite is able to absorb repeated impacts without chipping and maintain a smooth contact surface to slide smoothly across the ice. Rounded stones made of the right granite can last for many years of regular use.
In 2019, Canada was the first consecutive world champion in the Mixed Curling World Championship held in Aberdeen, Scotland, while Germany won silver medals and Norway, bronze ones.

COMMON USE OF GRANITE
Granite as tiles
The granite tile is used on the floor or as a tile on the wall for a more elegant and sophisticated effect. In this image we use a black granite, with a polished finish, on the wall as a paneling and on the floor as a floor.


Architecturally used granite or decorative facade
In large construction projects, granite can be used in two different or combined ways:
1) as a structural element 2) as a decorative cladding, or both as visible immediately above the waterline, in this photo are the large rectangular blocks of granite that were used on the bridge pillars. They are structural but also decorative blocks.

Granite as kerb/curb
Granite is widely used to curb streets. Granite curbs are more durable than cement curbs. It also gives the streets a more decorative look.

Granite slabs
The projects start with an idea and a piece of rough stone. If you’ve read this far, you’re definitely interested in granite.
A visit to our granite square can inspire you to enrich your knowledge about some interesting features of granite. Make an appointment with Nuno or Miguel (without obligation).

Granite tombstone
Granite stone is widely used as a tombstone in several countries. Because it is durable, beautiful especially when polished.
Granite is a type of stone associated with the quality or condition of what is durable or definitive. And this psychological association increases the interest in granite as a tombstone.

Granite pavement
The granite used in paving, or simply sidewalks, can result in beautiful mosaics on any sidewalk, square, or patio. And in Portugal, we have excellent examples of Portuguese pavement.
The beauty of natural stones combined with the art of stonemasons can result in unique, life-long pavements.
In this way, many roads of European capitals were paved. And nowadays, granite pavement is more used in historic streets where it is intended to maintain or give it a rustic look.


Granite for house building
This house was built with granite blocks. Granite building blocks can be cut naturally on all sides or finished on one or more sides.
This photo shows a combination of natural and finished cut granite surfaces. Notice how the blocks used on this wall have rough faces and finished sides, with well-defined joints.
In the image below, the blocks and the cornice in the roofline have a rough appearance in every block, but uniform if compared to the natural cut. But note that the parts used on the windowsill have a finer finish.


Granite countertop
One of the most common uses of granite at home is on the kitchen counter. The image of the counter below is made of a black Zimbabwe granite sheet that has been cut to size with careful finishes.
In this image, it is possible to perceive the polished finish around the peep and the smoothed finish in the continuous recess at the peep itself. Learn more about granite finishes here.
In addition, another black granite (polished Favaco) was applied to the counter wall to protect the wall from intense splashes of water.
