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Stone grates are rising in popularity for both public and private spaces because the stone has unique qualities, including affordability, visual appeal, and environmental friendliness. New designs of stone grates are expandable, which allows the use of stone grates for a long time.
Stone is also a great material for decorative grates that fit well in both private and public spaces with their ability to match the colors of the landscaping.
There are three types of stones with different qualities: natural stone, cast stone, and reinforced stone.
Natural Stone
Natural stone is one of the most ancient and abundant materials on the earth. It comes in a wide variety of colors, textures, and grain patterns. Natural stone grates are hewn from rock and shaped when in slab form. They can be polished, carved, and dyed to make them visually appealing.
These are best used on surfaces with minimal risk of vehicle damage because they don’t bear heavy loads very well.
Cast Stone Grates
Cast stone grates are made from cast concrete, and they are also popularly known as reconstructed stone grates. These grates are used for decorative purposes because you can make any motif you want with the cast. The shapes come out as bas relief sculptures.
These grates can’t take much weight, so they are used on surfaces where aesthetics are preferable to holding weight.
Reinforced Stone Grates
Reinforced stone technology takes the qualities of natural stone and the advantage of hybrid polymers to make an exceptionally strong material yet beautiful. For example, Jonite grates come in customizable colors, patterns, and textures, which can be done when manufacturing the grates.
Reinforced stone grates have a premium look that makes them fit for prestigious developments, both private and public. In addition, the polymer in these grates makes them easy to walk on.
Why are stone grates an ideal choice for protecting flora and fauna in different spaces of urban hardscapes?
Environmentally Friendly Choice
Stone is an abundant natural material found everywhere in the world. It can be easily quarried and made into stone grates without harming the environment. To make natural stone grates, the miners will break the stone from a block of rock and ship it to the workshop.
At the workshop, the rock slab is broken into smaller and more manageable pieces. Next, they are cut into slabs, which are then polished into presentable stone grates. This process releases very little carbon emissions except what is used to transport the rock to the workshop.
Making reinforced Jonite grates is not damaging to the environment either. The process needs even less rock extraction because it uses broken down natural stone, which means all rock extracted is used, making the process efficient in resource usage.
There is no environmental pollution in making stone grates because no chemicals are used to refine the material, unlike metal or heavy-duty polymers. There are no residues left in bleaching pools or toxic chemicals percolating to pollute underground water.
Stone products are 100% recyclable. Broken stone grates can be crushed into usable concrete to make new grates or as substrate material for landscaping. It eliminates the need to dump debris in large landfills.
Affordable Material
Stone grates are affordable as compared to other types of grates because of the cheap production costs. There are only quarrying, transportation, cutting, and polishing costs, which are relatively low compared to making metal or plastic grates.
Just-in-time production further reduces the costs of production, which are passed on to the customer at lower prices. Quality consistency during production also ensures Jonite grates have uniform quality and there is little risk of waste.
This affordability makes stone grates suitable for use in large-scale projects. They are especially feasible for public projects which are looking for value for money. They can do beautiful urban projects affordably.
High Visual Appeal
Stone grates have a unique look because of their natural style that can also be enhanced with custom slots, texture, and colors. Decorative grates can be custom-made to fit different developments, including education institutions, hospitality establishments, and private residential areas.
Custom stone grates fit very well in high end and premium developments. The colors can be made to match the landscaping or building structures for a more coherent visual presentation. In addition, the customization can extend to non-standard colors like purple or pink. Unlike other grates, there are more slot customization options for stone grates.
Higher Safety
Pedestrian walking spaces should be safe to walk on when wet, and there is a higher risk of slip and fall accidents. Stone grates can be made with rough-textured surfaces for more traction when it is wet. This anti-slip feature makes stone grates ideal for public use where there are higher chances for litigation for slip and fall accidents.
Stone grates offer several advantages over other materials. The natural look and feel of the material make it fit for different kinds of applications. It will look beautiful but with less cost, offering premium value for money.
