In order to ensure its quality,Natural stone requires some controls. Manufacturers of natural stone products are required to perform some CE Marking requirements since 2013.
CE marking is a “passport” enabling a product to be placed legally on the European market. Manufacturers of natural stone products should implement a factory production control (FPC), consisting in laboratory tests with some frequency, to know the physical-mechanical properties of the material and to control production.
All stone, not just that from Europe, include China, India, South Africa and so on ,must be CE marked. If the stone contractor is importing stone, they are responsible for ensuring that the stone has been properly tested.
External paving,Masonry, cladding, slabs and tiles for flooring and stairs,setts and kerbs are products that will be required to comply with the requirements of the relevant harmonised Standards. These standards set out the requirements for initial type testing and factory production control. The supplier must declare the denomination of the stone in accordance with BS EN 12440 Natural stone-Denomination criteria.
A Declaration of Performance is needed
A Declaration of Performance is also needed and must include the intended use and at least one of the Basic Requirements of the Constuction Products Regulation as required for the end use of product.
In the case of external paving, the minimum features that the manufacturer must provide are: skid resistance, frost resistance, flexural strenght and the water absorption. It is very important to pass laboratory tests to evaluate stone suitability as pavement. Based on the results obtained, conditions of use must be defined to choose thickness and placement procedures.
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