The sandstone is a Balearic stone extracted in blocks of 40x40x80cm and is very useful for the execution of walls and vaults.
Its properties depend on its origin, be it limestone (grains of sand cemented with the
calcium of shells) or eolianite
(sedimented sand), and therefore, each quarry has very different properties with
resistances varying between 25 and 630 kg / cm².
Therefore, it is necessary to select the appropriate quarry for the required use. We
recommend the publication EL MARÉS, by Ramón Sánchez-Cuenca,
where the properties (density, porosity, resistance, color, etc.) of the 20 active
quarries on Mallorca are described. In Formentera are
the quarries are already exhausted or are no longer operated.

Tipo Cantera Densidad (kg / m3 Coef. Absorció Resist. Compresión (kg / cm2) Resist.
Flexión (kg / cm2) Color

Marés S’Arenal 1,462 23,19% 35 18 Amarillo (yellow)
Marés Muro 1.528 23.62% 44 23 Blanco (White)
Marés Porreras 1,597 18,43% 36 21 Dorado (Gilded)
Marés Santanyí 1,794 3,48% 131 55 Blanco grisáceo (White-gray)
Marés Felanitx 1,961 9,23% 59 54 Blanco anaranjado (White-orange)
The table clearly shows the technical superiority of the sandstone of Santanyí with a
low water absorption coefficient and the best resistances,
Compression and flexion. It is remarkable that it is lighter than the stone of
Felanitx and has more than twice the compression resistance,
clearly the preference of the old masters for their use in public buildings such as
the Lonja de Palma.

The use of sandstones has the following advantages:

1. No surface treatment required. No plastering, no paints, no water repellent.

2. No maintenance required. It improves over time with the appearance of the patina.

3. Respiratory active material that regulates moisture.

4. Reduction of 80% of CO2 emissions compared to a façade of two concrete blocks with
monolayer outer coating and interior plaster.

At the level of social sustainability, these professions and the constructive
tradition of the islands are maintained or maintained. It is recalled to carry out the
possibility of using these stones for vault structures and arches at affordable
prices.

The extraction of these stones, in contrast to what is done with the aggregates, is
not an attack on the territory. On the contrary, the resulting quarries become spaces
of great interest, which are capable of allowing very different uses , In fact, it
would be necessary to revise the quarry sector, as the Balearic Islands had so far
only had the option of illegally replacing restoration by filling with excavation
material such as rubble and other construction waste.