Fossiliferous limestone tiles are pale cream, off-white or beige with the patterns of the fossils trapped in the stone clearly visible. You can use the tiles for numerous interior and exterior building details. Inside a home, limestone tiles add interest to a kitchen backsplash and can surround a bathroom sink or line a shower cubicle. Because the material is porous, you must seal it to prevent staining, deterioration or the formation of mold when you use it in wet or damp areas of the house. You also can lay fossiliferous limestone tile as floor tile. It is important to seal the porous tile before you grout it, or will absorb grout and stain. Limestone tile that gets heavy use requires resealing as much as several times a year, but most limestone can go several years between protective coatings.
Limestone tile with fossil traces makes beautiful paver paths and entry walkways. If it ages naturally in place, it will gray and degrade over time. You can seal outdoor pavers to retain color and discourage chipping and staining. A fountain tucked into a garden can sit in a limestone pool or on a small limestone paved area partly overgrown by moss or groundcover. The limestone blends easily into the surrounding garden. You also can use shaped limestone for swimming pool coping, the finishing edge around the pool. The softer limestone is more forgiving than concrete coping and provides a natural, organic note in the design of a backyard pool and deck.
Limestone is heavy when cut in large slabs, but it used to be a popular ornamental building stone, particularly for government buildings or large banks, department stores and other commercial structures. Limestone cladding, thin panels of the stone mortared to a substructure, still is used for building exteriors, although the initial expense and upkeep discourages widespread use. The Galveston, Texas, post office and courthouse are covered in limestone cladding. The Chicago Cultural Center is faced in limestone. You also can find fossiliferous limestone cladding in the Elephant House at the National Zoo in Washington as well as in the Washington National Cathedral and many of the public buildings throughout the nation's capital.
