KOTA STONE - NATURAL MATERIAL
Kota Stone is a fine-grained variety of limestone obtained from Kota, Rajasthan, India.It is non-slippery, non-porous, can be used in the rough form or polished to a nice shine. It looks natural and beautiful. Kota stone can be rough finished or polished according to requirement.
Here, I have described the characteristics of Kota floors along with my rating. The overall rating will help you compare Kota with other floor options.
CHARACTERISTICS OF KOTA STONE:
Composition: Kota is a very fine grained siliceous calcium carbonate rock of sedimentary nature.
Occurrence: Kota stone is quarried from Kota district, Rajasthan in India. It is a natural material. * 10
Physical properties: Kota is compact, tough and homogenous natural stone. It is non-slippery. * 9
Porosity: Kota is resistant to water to a large extent. * 8
Stains: Since Kota is a limestone like Marble, it is not resistant to acid and alkali and gets stained easily. Moreover, the stains are difficult to remove. * 6
Scratches: Kota is a soft stone and gets scratched easily. * 6
Cost: Kota is relatively cheaper when compared to other natural stones. * 9
Seamless flooring: Since Kota stones are available in smaller sizes than Marble and there is variation in colour from tile to tile, the flooring does not appear seamless. * 8
Maintenance: Kota is easy to maintain but care should be taken not to drag furniture over it as it scratches easily. * 7
Choice: Kota is available in small tiles and the colour options are limited. But it can be polished as per requirement. * 7
Green rating: It is eco-friendly and bio degradable. * 10
OVERALL RATING FOR KOTA STONE: * 8.0
ADVANTAGES OF KOTA STONE FLOORING:
Beautiful: Polished Kota Stone has a nice smoothness and shine.
Finish: Kota stone can be finished according to requirement such as one-side honed, both-sides honed, hand cut, machine cut, polished, mirror finish and calibrated etc.
Hygienic: Kota, being non-porous and moisture resistant, is a hygienic flooring option in humid regions.
Cool: Kota reflects heat and so Kota flooring is always cool and comfortable underfoot.
Affordable: Unlike Marble or Granite, Kota stone is very affordable. In fact it is the cheapest stone among other natural stones.
Wide range: Kota is available as slabs or as tiles, butin small sizes. Kota is also available in beautiful colours like black, pink, grey, and beige though the rich greenish-blue and grey colours are the most popular.
DISADVANTAGES OF KOTA STONE FLOORING:
Flaking: The stone tends to flake over a period of time. However, periodic polishing using wax can eliminate this phenomenon.
Lustreless: Kota lacks the luster of Marble or granite.
Small sized tiles: Unlike Marble and Granite, Kota is not available as large slabs. This is due to the brittleness of limestone.
Many joints: Since Kota tiles are available only in small sized tiles, there are too many joints visible and this does not look very aesthetic.
SUITABILITY OF KOTA STONE:
It can be used both internally and externally. Since it is durable and affordable, it is most often used in large areas like industries and commercial buildings. Being water resistant, Kota is also used in external staircases, pathways, corridors, driveways, and balconies etc. It is sometimes used as a wall cladding. A similar stone is Slate.
