Laterite Stones in Construction

Laterite stones are known as Vettukallu  or Chenkallu in the local language. These are natural red coloured stones and are used in the construction of houses and other buildings. They are natural, eco-friendly and heat resistant compared to concrete stones. 

Laterite stones have good strength that they are used more widely in construction than cement blocks which are available at cheaper rates.

There are 3 types of Laterite Stones available now in the market; 1st quality, 2nd quality and 3rd quality stones. 1st quality stones have a good finish with perfect edges, corners and faces. 2nd quality stones have unfinished edges and corners. And the 3rd ones are broken stones. For a house construction, the 1st stones are used for the main walls, 2nd stones used for floors and the 3rd stones are used for building the foundation.  

When compared to 1st and 2nd quality stones,  2st stones requires more cement mortar for masonry work as they have unfinished edges and corners. When it comes to first they are well finished and gives a nice look with less usage of cement mortar and masonry work. So the 2nd stones require a little more labour charge.

These stones are manufactured and taken from the quarry as layers. The top layers are stronger and has more finishing than the lower ones. The more reddish coloured stones with less whites are stronger.

14"*8" is the standard size of laterite stone bricks. These stones are available from rupees 7 per brick from the quarry. It ranges from 20-47 rupees in the market. The average rate of laterites stones are rupees 25/- for 1st quality bricks, 20/- for 2ndquality and rupees 7/- for the 3rd quality bricks at the manufacturing sites while it ranges from 45-50 in the market for 1st quality bricks which includes the loading, unloading and rent rate. 

The best laterite bricks in Kerala are available at manufacturing sites in Kannur district. Karshika.com lists the best laterite stone cladding tiles and laterite stone supplier in Kerala available at the lowest rates. They supply in Kannur, Kasargod, Wayand, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kollam. Direct links are given below.

Laterite Stone Cladding Tiles
https://karshika.com/item/laterite-stone-vettukallu-tiles-in-kerala-iid-728746

Laterite Stone Bricks 
https://karshika.com/item/laterite-stones-vettukallu-in-kerala-iid-728745