What Stones Are Used to Build Fireplaces?

Granite

• Granite is one of the best choices for fireplace stone because of its hardness and durability. A granite fireplace will not chip, break or wear easily. It is one of the hardest rocks you can find, which makes it an ideal building material when you want to build something intended to be permanent. The popularity of granite as a building material means that stoneworkers are very skilled at working with it, so you can obtain almost any kind of fireplace design you want if you have it built from granite.

Limestone

• Limestone is a very workable stone that craftsmen can use to create a complete fireplace. Mantels and surrounds can be carved out of limestone to create a fireplace that is very sleek and modern, or elaborate and old-world. Master stoneworkers can create artistic fireplaces with scrollwork or even figures carved into the surface. However, carved fireplaces of this type are more expensive than other options.

Found Stone

• Another look often seen in fireplace construction is found stone. This is where natural rocks are used along with mortar to create a more rustic looking fireplace. Fieldstones and river stones are both used in this kind of construction. Rocks of fairly uniform size are used, but oftentimes people use a variety of different colored rocks. Fieldstones tend to be flat, while river rocks look rounded due to the effect of years of water washing over them.

Manufactured Stone

• Although you can't tell just from looking at them, many modern stone fireplaces are actually made using a veneer of artificial, man-made stone. The result is a fireplace that looks like it has been built in the traditional stone and masonry fashion, but in reality is covered with a veneer of artificial stones that can be made in any color that you are looking for. The stones are mostly cement, and construction of this type weighs significantly less than an all-natural stone fireplace.