Advantages

• Good compressive strength
• Familiar material to workforce
• Ethnic – of the locality

Disadvantages

• Poor tensile strength
• Some stones decay
• Need for skilled workforce
• Maintenance cost – discolouration/cleaning
• Sedimentary stone is not formed under pressure but in layers and can split off if vertically loaded. This can, however, be useful – eg slate
• Some stone, such as marble, is too expensive for construction although may be used as cladding