Stone found in nature, have to be quarried from their thick beds. After quarrying large pieces of rocks, it is essential to break them into smaller sizes so that they can be used in buildings. A place where exposed surfaces of good quality natural rocks are abundantly available is known as “quarry,” and the process of taking out stones from the natural bed is known as “quarrying.” This is done with the help of hand tools like a pickaxe, chisels, etc., or with the help of machines. Blasting using explosives is another method used in quarrying. The dressing of stones is important so that they are dressed in suitable shapes and polished to give a smooth surface if desired.

1. D. Naresh Kumar
Assistant Professor
Dept CIVIL Engineering
St. Martin’s Engineering College

2.  Stone found in nature, have to be quarried from
their thick beds. After quarrying large pieces of
rocks, it is essential to break them into smaller sizes
so that they can be used in buildings.
 A place where exposed surfaces of good
quality natural rocks are abundantly available is
known as “quarry,” and the process of taking out
stones from the natural bed is known as
“quarrying.”
 This is done with the help of hand tools like a
pickaxe, chisels, etc., or with the help of machines.
Blasting using explosives is another method used in
quarrying.
 The dressing of stones is important so that they are
dressed in suitable shapes and polished to give a
smooth surface if desired.

3.  The stones are used in different types of
masonry; therefore, it has to be cut and shaped
to fit in the type of work needed.
 Dressing Of Stones.
 Here in this article, we’ll discuss various types
and methods of dressing of stones to get the
desired surface and shapes.

4.  Definition:
 The Dressing of stone is defined as “The process of giving a
proper size, shape and finish to the roughly broken stones as
obtained from the quarry.”
 This is done with the help of hand tools like a pickaxe, chisels,
etc., or with the help of machines.
 This process is done manually or mechanically. A dressed
stone is fit for use in a particular situation in a building.
 Objectives:
 Stones obtained from the quarries are very rough and
irregular in shape and quite bulky in size and weight.
 Various objectives of dressing are below;
 (a) To reduce the size of the big blocks of stones so that they
are converted to easily lift-able pieces. This reduction in size is
generally carried out at the quarry itself because that saves a
lot of transportation costs.
 (b) To give a proper shape to the stone. It is known that
stones can be used at different places in the building, e.g.,
in foundations, in walls, in arches, or for flooring, each
situation will require a proper shape.

5.  This can be given at the quarry and also at the site
of construction.
 (c) To obtain an appealing finish. In a residential
building, stones are used not only because of their
extra strength, hardness, and durability but also
because of their aesthetic value.
 Stone surfaces can be made very decorative and of
appealing appearance, which will last for a
considerable time. A stone house has its distinct
individuality in a city of concrete structures.

7.  Stages in the Dressing of Stone.
 The different stages of dressing of stones are:
 1. Sizing:
 It is the process of inducing the irregular blocks to
the desired dimensions by removing extra portions.
It is done with the help of hand hammers and chisels.

8.  2. Shaping:
 This follows sizing and involves removing the sharp
projections. Many stones are used in common
construction after shaping.
 3. Planing:
 This is rather an advanced type of dressing in which
the stone is cleared off all the irregularities from the
surface.

9.  4. Finishing:
 This is done only in case of specially dressed stones
and consists of rubbing of the surface of stones with
suitable abrasive materials such as silicon carbide.
 5. Polishing:
 This is the last stage in dressing and is only done on
marbles, limestone, and granite.

10.  Methods / Types of Dressing of Stones.
 As said earlier, dressing of stone can be done both
manually as well as mechanically.
 Manually, skilled stone-smiths can work wonders on
the suitable type of stones with chisels and hammers
and abrasives.
 Mechanically, machines can cut the stone to any
desired size and shape. Their surfaces can be made
extra smooth by polishing through machines.
 There are, however, some traditional types of
dressing of stones which are quite popular even at
present. They are described below in brief.

11.  (i) Pitched dressing:
 In Pitched dressing, only the edges of a stone
block are made level with the help of a
hammer. The superfluous mass on the face is
generally left intact.

12.  (ii) Hammer dressing:
 It is that type of dressing in which large raised portions
of the stones are broken off, and the stone is shaped
somewhat flat but rough due to hammer marks.
 A hammered-dressed stone has no sharp and irregular
corners and has a comparatively even surface to fit well
in the masonry.
 These stone blocks are squared, and the bed and vertical
sides are dressed to a distance of 8 to 10 cm from the face.
This is done to enable the stone to have proper joints.
 This work is done by using the waller’s hammer. The
obtained stones are termed as hammer faced, quarry-
faced, or rustic faced.

14.  (iii) Chisel drafting:
 In this method, drafts or grooves are made
with the help of a chisel at all the four edges,
and any excessive stone from the center is then
removed.
 Any superfluous stone from the center is then
removed. Chisel drafted stones are specially
used in plinths and corners of the buildings.

16.  (iv) Rough Tooling:
 The edges are first squared by using a chisel and
hammer. Then a series of grooves of variable width
(4-5 cm), more or less parallel to the tool marks, are
developed over the surface of the stone.
 (v) Punched Dressing:
 In this method of dressing of stone, about 1 cm
vertical or horizontal grooves are sunk with a chisel
having it’s shaped as a hollow semi-circle. The sides
of the rock are kept chamfered or sunk.
 It is done on the stones that have already been
rough-tooled. With the help of Chisels, a series of
parallel ridges are developed on the stone surface. It
is also called furrowed finish.

19.  (vi) Close Picked and Fine Tooling:
 A punched stone is then further dressed so as to obtain a finer surface.
 This is an extreme type of dressing of stone in which almost every projection is
removed from all the sides of the stone. Its surface is given a fine-texture and
appealing look.
 (vii) Boasted or Droved finish:
 It is a very common type dressing of stone, in which the surface of the stone is
covered with parallel marks that may run in any direction.
 A boaster, which is actually a wide-edged chisel, is used for this purpose.
 These marks may be horizontal or at any angle. The chisel marks are not
continuous across the whole width of the stone.
 (viii) Scabbling:
 Irregular edges of the stones are broken off, and the stone is shaped. This work is
generally done in a quarry, and the edges are broken with a scabbling hammer.
 (ix) Reticulated finish:
 In this type of dressing of stones, irregularly shaped sinking is made within the
central portion of the stones having a 2 cm wide margin on its sides.
 These sinking are about 6 mm deep. The margin around the sinking is of constant
width. The sunk surfaces may have punched marks to give a better appearance.
 (x) Vermiculated finish:
 This type of dressing of stone is the same as the reticulated finish except that they
are more curved and give a worm-eaten type appearance.
 It is not very common as they need a lot of labor for construction.

20.  (xi) Combed or Dragged finish:
 This type of finish is done on soft stones. A comb is
driven over the surface of this stone to remove it all
elevating portions.
 (xii) Picked Dressing:
 This type of dressing of stones is obtained by finishing
the stone with a point, and the depression is smaller than
the above type.
 (xiii) Molded finish:
 Molding is done to improve the appearance of stones.
These are either handmade or machine-made.
 (xiv) Rubbed Finish:
 In this method of dressing of stone, The surfaces of
stones are rubbed to get a smoother finish.
 One piece of stone is rubbed against the other. Water and
sand are added to aid the operation. It can also be rubbed
by hand or machines.

21.  (xv) Polished Surfaces:
 Stones that can take polish, e.g., granites,
marbles, limestones, etc., are first rubbed and then
polished by using rubber, pad, sand, water, and putty
powder.
 However, a machine can also be used for polishing.
 (xvi) Sand Blasting:
 This method of dressing of stone is done to imprint
lettering and design on the surface of the granite.
 The polished surface is coated with a molten rubber-like
compound that solidifies on cooling.
 The desired design is cut on this coating with a sharp
tool, thereby exposing the stone surface, which is to be
cut.
 A blast of sand is then blown with compressed air, the
part which is exposed is cut to the depth needed.