Material and weathering

Stone and marble in a Mediterranean climate

Stone is the material where two works differ the most. Marble is not simply marble, and limestone behaves differently from granite.

What to expect

Pale marble greys slightly outdoors; on north-facing sites and under trees algae settle on it. That can be taken off and it comes back. After five years a marble work in a garden no longer looks the way it did in the studio, and many people prefer it that way.

Polished surfaces lose their gloss outdoors. If you want to keep it, the work belongs in a courtyard or indoors.

Frost is no issue in the Mallorcan lowlands. In the Tramuntana above […] metres it is, and there water drawn into open-pored stone starts to matter.

Care

Once a year with a soft brush and water, nothing added. Against growth, a stone cleaner with a low pH, used sparingly, and never vinegar or citric acid on limestone.

The point we settle beforehand

With every stone work we tell you what it will look like in five years. If you want a surface that stays as it is, buy bronze instead. That is not an argument against stone; it is the condition under which you stay content with the work.

How bronze behaves over the same five years is set out under Bronze outdoors and near the sea.

Which kind of stone holds up at your site is settled before you buy.