Sustainable Design through Natural Sandstone

Construction: Natural stone’s inherent properties lowers the impact of your project from day one. 

• Lower Carbon Footprint
  • Natural Stone is quarried, Cut and ready to install strait from nature
  • Natural stone is not made of concrete which is responsible for 8% of global CO2. Manufactured stone has 7x the carbon footprint of Natural Stone produced by Lyons Sandstone.
    • Concrete production releases 1 lb of CO2 for every pound of concrete. 
    • Concrete requires large disturbed areas, intense grinding and kilning of the product which is very energy intensive. 
    • The chemical reaction that makes quicklime releases a unit of CO2 for every unit of quicklime that is produced.

• Lyons Sandstone’s quarries are small and built for the long term.  The typical acre of quarry operated by Lyons Sandstone can produce over 3 million Sq ft of thin veneer.  Even the most sustainably managed Forest can’t match that. Our current quarries have enough reserves to last centuries. 
• Wood products require the felling of nature’s carbon sequestration masters: trees and forests. Forests, domestically and globally are essential in removing Carbon from the atmosphere.
• Contains no chemicals, additives, or pigments.
• Our products use the colors inherent to our materials to create a stunning and varied palette.
• Natural stone does not require painting or sealing or any other Chemical treatment to be colorful.  
• This means no VOC or other off gassing.
• Less energy in production

Natural stone veneer is quarried, cut and ready to install.  Unlike Tile or Brick, it is never crushed, reconstituted and fired in a kiln, or intensely processed in any way.

• Zero waste from our production process.  

Thin veneer is very efficient, often being made from “by product” from the production of other products.  Any remaining material is used to make gravel or quarry reclamation. 

• Lyons Sandstone is a Colorado Company with Colorado values.
  • We are a family owned company working on the family homestead.  Natives to the front range area and we understand the unique and important environment we have here. As such, we understand the importance of sustainable quarrying, reducing waste and reusing resources.
    • We recycle the water required for sawing our stone thousands of times.  Cleaning it many times so that we can continue to reuse it. 
    • We source Solar and wind power to run our saws and other fabrication equipment.  
    • We run electric Equipment where possible to reduce our use of Diesel and other carbon based fuels. 
• Local production means less transportation of materials. Our stone is quarried and processed in Colorado and New Mexico.  It never sees the inside of a shipping container or travels thousands of miles on the back of a truck. 
• Sustainable quarrying:
  • Lyons Sandstone’s quarries are small and operated for the long term.  Our typical quarry can produce over 3 million sq. ft. of thin veneer per quarried acre.  Even the most sustainably managed forest can’t match that. Our current quarries have enough reserves to last centuries. 

Maintenance and Life Cycle:  

Every other building material will never again look as good as the day it is installed.  Natural stone will look better every day after it is installed.

–Mark Rodgers, University Architect University of Denver

• Natural Stone will outlast the building you place it on.  Natural stone never needs replacement, repainting or resealing.
• Natural Stone resists degradation from weather, pests, or plants, fungus and molds better than any other available material.
• Unlike materials that are painted, stained or artificially chemically colored, Natural stone will never fade in UV or change in color and can always be cleaned with pressure washing with no harm to the stone. 
• Many other cladding materials can be damaged with the scar revealing a very different and unsightly interior. (Manufactured stone that is cut or chipped looks like concrete) Natural stone, when damaged, simply looks like the natural stone it is.

A more sustainable and healthy living environment:

• Solar Gain and thermal balancing:  Natural Stone’s inherent thermal mass can, when properly used, greatly reduce the need for heating and cooling in the Colorado environment. 
• Natural Sandstone does not outgas, contribute to unhealthy air, break down into micro plastics, or other environmental factors in the home.