Moleanos Stone: Characteristics, Types, Pros and Cons, Cleaning and Prices!

The exploration of Moleanos dates back to distant times and is one of the most prominent activities in the Aljubarrota region. This stone, perhaps little known by the majority of Portuguese people, is exported internationally and is present in buildings in the most important cities of our civilization.

Moleanos stone is a type of limestone from Portugal, originating in the town that gives it its name: Moleanos. The stone has a unique colour, in a range of tones that range from beige, white and brown, creating impressive atmospheres that seduce architects and interior designers from all over the world. Its characteristics and colour are fundamental to its enormous global success, as they make it a versatile option, ideal for the most varied spaces, environments and decorative styles.

Fine Moleanos

Fine Moleanos stone is a more refined finishing version of the classic stone. This type of Moleanos is characterized by its fine-grained composition, uniform texture and very consistent beige tone. Its technical characteristics make this variant less hard and durable than the classic one, while still having very acceptable resistance. We can often see this type of Moleanos stone in coverings and paving (indoor) but, due to its more refined and elegant appearance, this is also a highly sought-after stone for details or interior decorative accessories such as fireplaces, furniture and stairs, among others.

Classic Moleanos

Considering the name itself, it is not difficult to see that this is the most common type of Moleano stone. Classic Moleanos is a medium-grained stone that has a consistent and uniform colour pattern. It is a hard and durable stone, ideal for a myriad of applications, mainly in terms of cladding and paving. Due to large-scale extraction, as well as restrictions imposed on exploration—the quarries are located in protected natural reserve areas—it is, nowadays, difficult to find large blocks of this type of Moleanos stone.

Moleanos blue

Vidraco Moleanos

Vidraco is the variant with the greatest hardness, resistance and durability, and is, for this reason, widely used in paving outdoor spaces. This type of stone has a glassy finish, as well as a consistent colour palette based on beige.

Just like any other type of stone, Moleanos stone, despite its popularity and extensive use, has advantages and disadvantages that must be taken into account:

Advantages of Moleanos stone:

• Resistance: Moleanos stones are characterized by being very resistant and, for this reason, useful for applying to almost all types of surfaces.
• Hardness and durability: The technical composition of these stones makes them a solid choice for architecture and decoration. They are reliable and, when well maintained, will last a long time.
• Elegance: The unique colours and textures of this stone make it an obvious choice for details and structural elements in an environment that wants to be elegant and classy.

Disadvantages of Moleanos stone:

• Regular cleaning: Moleanos stones are very porous and this, despite the aesthetic advantage it gives them, facilitates the absorption of all types of grease and dirt. This porosity and the consequences that arise from it require you to know how to clean Moleanos stone and to do so regularly.
• Need for treatment: Due to the porosity of the stone, the need for treatment may be inevitable, to avoid further damage.
• Little supply: The intense exploitation of this type of stone—for a long time—and the restrictions imposed by the location of the quarries—in a protected natural reserve area—make the supply of this type of stone scarcer than desirable, especially for blocks/slabs of large dimensions.

As previously mentioned, Moleanos stones have physical and structural characteristics that require constant care, regular cleaning habits and, to avoid major and even irreversible problems, treatment of the stone itself. Therefore, if you already have this type of stone in your home, pickling, descaling and waterproofing Moleanos stone will certainly be familiar topics for you. You should look for companies/professionals that carry out this type of service, preferably using ecological products without acid or alkaline bases, to ensure deep cleaning without damaging the floor.

Treating and polishing Moleanos stone, which is essential so that it does not lose its texture, shine and colour, does not make cleaning any less necessary. We recommend that you clean the surfaces regularly to maintain the integrity of the material.

The price of Moleanos stone, as well as many others, will always depend on the variant of stone you choose, the thickness of the blocks, the treatment, quantity and supplier (among other variables), so it is very difficult to pinpoint a value that, ultimately, it may even end up misleading rather than helping.

As this is not what we want, what we recommend at homify is that you ask for quotes from several suppliers—which should include the price of the product, its treatment and installation—so that you can make the best decision and make the choice best suited to what you want to spend.

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