Terminology index:

C

• calcarenite

  limestone composed predominantly of clastic sand-size grains of calcite, or rarely aragonite, usually as fragments of shells or other skeletal structures. Some calcarenites contain oolites (small, spherical grains of calcium carbonate that resemble roe) and may be termed oolite limestone. Calcareous sandstones, in which the calcium carbonate is present chiefly as bonding material, are not included in this category.
  
  

• calcite limestone

  a limestone containing not more than 5% of magnesium carbonate.
  
  

• calcite streaks

  description of a white or milky-like streak occurring in stone. It is a joint plane usually wider than a glass seam and has been re-cemented by deposition of calcite in the crack and is structurally sound.
  
  

• canopy

  a sheltering roof, as over a niche or a doorway.
  
  

• capital

  the culminating stone at the top of a column or pilaster, often richly carved.
  
  

• carve

  shaping, by cutting a design to form the trade of a sculptor.
  
  

• caulking

  making a marble joint tight or leak-proof by sealing with an elastic adhesive compound.
  
  

• cavity vent

  a vent or opening in the joints between stones to provide even atmospheric pressure and humidity between the cavity and outside air; to prevent condensation and the migration of water into the structure.
  
  

• cement putty-cream-butter

  a thick creamy mixture made with pure cement and water which is used to strengthen the bond between the stone and the setting bed.
  
  

• chamfer

  to bevel the junction of an exterior angle.
  
  

• chat-sawn finish

  a rough gangsaw finish produced by sawing with coarse chat.
  
  

• cladding

  non-load-bearing thin stone slabs used for facing buildings.
  
  

• cleavage

  the ability of a rock mass to break along natural surfaces; a surface of natural parting.
  
  

• cleavage plane

  plane or planes along which a stone may likely break or delaminate.
  
  

• coating

  a protective or decorative covering applied to the surface or impregnated into stone for such purposes as waterproofing, enhancing resistance to weathering, wear, and chemical action, or improving appearance of the stone.
  
  

• cobblestone

  a natural rounded stone, large enough for use in paving; commonly used to describe paving blocks, usually granite, generally cut to rectangular shapes.
  
  

• commercial marble

  a crystalline rock composed predominantly of one or more of the following materials: calcite dolomite or serpentine, and capable of taking a polish.
  
  

• composite

  a construction unit in which stone that is to be exposed in the final use is permanently bonded or joined to other material, which may be stone manufactured material, that will be concealed.
  
  

• contraction joints

  spaces where panels are joined and which expand as the panels contract.
  
  

• control joint

  provided so that the movement of different parts of the structure due to shrinkage, expansion, temperature changes or other causes do not transfer loads across the joint.
  
  

• coping

  a flat stone used as a cap on freestanding walls.
  
  

• coquina

  a limestone composed predominantly of unaltered shells or fragments of shells loosely cemented by calcite. Coquina is generally very coarse-textured and has a high porosity. The term has been applied principally to a very porous shell rock of Eocence age that has been quarried in Florida.
  
  

• corbel plates

  plates of non-ferrous metal fixed into a structure to support stone cladding at intervals and over openings in such a way as not to be visible.
  
  

• cornerstone

  a stone forming a part of a corner or angle in a wall. Also a stone laid at the formal inauguration of the erection of a building, not necessarily at a corner, usually incorporating a date or inscription.
  
  

• cornice

  a molded projecting stone at the top or an entablature.
  
  

• course

  a horizontal range of stone units the length of the wall.
  
  

• coursed veneer

  this is achieved by using stones of the same or approximately the same heights. Horizontal joints run the entire length of the veneered area. Vertical joints are constantly broken so that no two joints will be over one another.
  
  

• crack

  a break, split, fracture, fissure, separation, cleavage, or elongated narrow opening, however caused, visible without magnification to the human eye and extending from the surface into the stone, that must extend through the grain or matrix.
  
  

• cross-bedding

  the arrangement of laminations of strata transverse or oblique to the main planes of stratification.
  
  

• crowfoot (styolite)

  description of a dark gray to black zigzag marking occurring in stone. Usually structurally sound.
  
  

• crystalline limestone

  a limestone, either calcitic or dolomitic, composed of interlocking crystalline grains of the constituent minerals and of phaneritic texture; commonly used synonymously with marble and thus representing a recrystallized limestone; improperly applied to limestones that display some obviously crystalline grains in a fine-grained mass but which are not of interlocking texture and do not compose the entire mass. (NOTE: All limestones are microscopically, or in part megascopically, crystalline, ; the term is thus confusing but should be restricted to stones that are completely crystalline and of megascopic and interlocking texture and that may be classed as marbles).
  
  

• curbing

  slabs and blocks of stone bordering streets, walks, etc.
  
  

• cut stone

  this includes all stone cut or machined to give sizes, dimension or shape, and produced in accordance with working or shop drawings which have been developed from the architect's structural drawings.
  
  

• cutting stock

  a term used to describe slabs of varying size, finish, and thickness which are used in fabrication treads, risers, copings, borders, sills, stools, hearths, mantels, and other special purpose stones.