Stone standards

English Heritage publishes research reports and technical advice notes on selecting and using stone. Publications are available from their bookshop including some free downloads of Acrobat files.
The Historic Environment Local Management (HELM) website includes a long list of downloadable English Heritage and local authority publications.
Stone Federation GB publishes guides to the use of stone and a list of stone publications (Acrobat download - some of the listed publications are out-of-date).
The Stone Roofing Association publishes guidance on stone roofing including some links to English Heritage publications and advice on making a mineral planning application.
Building Research Establishment publications are available from their bookshop.
British Geological Survey publications on building stone and minerals planning are linked from here and available from their bookshop.

British Standards

There are four types of standards for building and construction:

product requirements;
test methods for products or materials;
guides for the design of buildings and
workmanship.

The latter two are known as codes of practice. Sometimes product requirement standards will include the relevant test methods. In others they are published separately.

Product standards list the requirements which products or materials must satisfy to be able to claim conformity to a standard and the test methods which must be used to demonstrate this.

Codes of practice are not mandatory. They make recommendations.

Scope The most important part of a standard is the scope. This explains which products or materials fall within the standard and sometimes lists those which do not. This is important because all product standards are written to deal with the performance, life expectancy and modes of failure of the specific material. Hence claims of conformity to a standard for a product which is not in that standard's scope are meaningless. As an example, some artificial roofing 'slates' claim conformity to BSEN12326-1 (or its defunct predecessor BS680) when, because they are made of plastic or concrete, their modes of failure are completely different to real slates and are not tested in the roofing slate standard.

Scope of BSEN12326-1 Roofing slates
This Part of EN 12326 specifies requirements for slate and stone products for roofing, cladding and internal wall lining, as defined in subclauses 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3, used for assembly into discontinuous roofing, cladding (except bonded cladding) or internal wall linings. It does not apply to products for roofing, cladding or internal wall lining made from the following :

a) Stone other than those defined in subclause 3.1;
b) Concrete;
c) Polymeric materials;
d) Fibre reinforced cement;
e) Metal;
f) Clay;

It is not applicable to bonded cladding (cladding fixed with adhesives).

British, European and International standards can be purchased from the British Standards Institution and bookshops.

British Standards for stone

BS 8221 – 1:2000, Code of practice for cleaning and surface repair of buildings; Part 1 Cleaning of natural stones, brick and terracotta. BSI, 2000

Rough block

BS EN 1467:2003 Natural stone. Rough blocks. Requirements
BS EN 1468:2003 Natural stone test methods. Rough slabs. Requirements

Masonry, cladding, sills etc

BS EN 771-6:2001 Specification for masonry units. Natural stone masonry units
BS EN 772-11:2000 Methods of test for masonry units. Determination of water absorption of aggregate concrete, manufactured stone and natural stone masonry units due to capillary action and the initial rate of water absorption of clay masonry units
BS EN 772-4:1998 - Methods of test for masonry units. Determination of real and bulk density and of total and open porosity for natural stone masonry units
BS EN 772-20:2000 - Methods of test for masonry units. Determination of flatness of faces of masonry units
BS EN 1469:2004 Natural stone products. Slabs for cladding. Requirements
BS 5385-1:2009 - Wall and floor tiling. Design and installation of ceramic, natural stone and mosaic wall tiling in normal internal conditions. Code of practice
BS 5628-1:2005 - Code of practice for the use of masonry. Structural use of unreinforced masonry
BS 5628-3:2005 - Code of practice for the use of masonry. Materials and components, design and workmanship
BS 5642-1:1978 Sills and copings. Specification for window sills of precast concrete, cast stone, clayware, slate and natural stone
BS 5642-2:1983 Sills and copings. Specification for copings of precast concrete, cast stone, clayware, slate and natural stone
BS 8298:1994 Code of practice for design and installation of natural stone cladding and lining
BS EN 1052-4:2000 - Methods of test for masonry. Determination of shear strength including damp proof course
BS EN 1925:1999 - Natural stone test methods. Determination of water absorption coefficient by capillarity
BS EN 1926:2006 Natural stone test methods. Determination of uniaxial compressive strength
BS EN 1936:2006 - Natural stone test methods. Determination of real density and apparent density, and of total and open porosity
BS EN 12057:2004 Natural stone products. Modular tiles. Requirements
BS EN 12059:2008 Natural stone products. Dimensional stone work. Requirements
BS EN 12370:1999 Natural stone test methods. Determination of resistance to salt crystallization
BS EN 12371:2001 Natural stone test methods. Determination of frost resistance
BS EN 12372:2006 Natural stone test methods. Determination of flexural strength under concentrated load
BS EN 12407:2007 Natural stone test methods. Petrographic examination
BS EN 13161:2008 Natural stone test methods. Determination of flexural strength under constant moment
BS EN 13364:2002 Natural stone test methods. Determination of the breaking load at dowel hole
BS EN 13755:2008 Natural stone test methods. Determination of water absorption at atmospheric pressure
BS EN 13373:2003 Natural stone test methods. Determination of geometric characteristics on units
BS EN 13919:2002 - Natural stone test methods. Determination of resistance to ageing by SO2 action in the presence of humidity
BS EN 14066:2003 Natural stone test methods. Determination of resistance to ageing by thermal shock
BS EN 14146:2004 - Natural stone test methods. Determination of the dynamic elastic modulus of elasticity (by measuring the fundamental resonance frequency)
BS EN 14147:2003 Natural stone test methods. Determination of resistance to ageing by salt mist
BSEN 14157 Natural stone test methods. Determination of Abrasion Resistance
BS EN 14158:2004 Natural stone test methods. Determination of rupture energy
BS EN 14205:2003 Natural stone test methods. Determination of Knoop hardness
BS EN 14579:2004 Natural stone test methods. Determination of sound speed propagation
BS EN 14580:2005 Natural stone test methods. Determination of static elastic modulus
BS EN 14581:2004 Natural stone test methods. Determination of linear thermal expansion coefficient
BS 8000-3:2001 - Workmanship on building sites. Code of practice for masonry
BS 8000-11.2:1990 - Workmanship on building sites. Code of practice for wall and floor tiling. Natural stone tiles

Paving, floor tiles, kerbs etc

BS EN 1341. Slabs of natural stone for external paving. Requirements and test methods
BS EN 1342. Setts of natural stone for external paving. Requirements and test methods
BS EN 1343. Kerbs of natural stone for external paving. Requirements and test methods
DD CEN/TS 15209:2008 Tactile paving surface indicators produced from concrete, clay and stone
BS EN 12058:2004 Natural stone products. Slabs for floors and stairs. Requirements
BS 5385-5:2009 Wall and floor tiling. Design and installation of terazzo, natural stone and agglomerated stone tile and slab flooring. Code of practice
BS 7533:1992 - Guide for structural design of pavements constructed with clay or concrete block pavers
BS 7533-4:2006 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Code of practice for the construction of pavements of precast concrete flags or natural stone slabs
BS 7533-6:1999 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Code of practice for laying natural stone, precast concrete and clay kerb units
BS 7533-7:2002 + AMD 1 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Code of practice for the construction of pavements of natural stone setts and cobbles
BS 7533-8:2003 - Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Guide for the structural design of lightly trafficked pavements of precast concrete flags and natural stone flags
BS 7533-9. Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Part 9. Code of practice for the construction of rigid pavements of clay pavers
BS 7533-10 + AMD1. Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Guide for the structural design of trafficked pavements constructed of natural stone setts or concrete paving blocks
BS 7533-11:2003 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Code of practice for the opening, maintenance and reinstatement of pavements of concrete, clay and natural stone
BS 7533-12:2006 - Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Guide to the structural design of trafficked pavements constructed on a bound base using concrete paving flags and natural stone slabs
BS 7533-13:2009 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Guide for the design of permeable pavements constructed with concrete paving blocks and flags, natural stone slabs and setts and clay pavers
BS 7533-10:2004 Pavements constructed with clay, natural stone or concrete pavers. Guide for the structural design of trafficked pavements constructed of natural stone setts
BS EN 14231:2003 - Natural stone test methods. Determination of the slip resistance by means of the pendulum tester

Roofing

BS EN 12326-1:2004 Slate and stone products for discontinuous roofing and cladding. Product specification
BS EN 12326-2:2000 Slate and stone products for discontinuous roofing and cladding. Methods of test
BS5534:2003 Code of practice for slating and tiling
BS8000 Part 6:1990 Code of practice for slating and tiling of roofs and cladding

There is a guide to testing stone slates and metamorphic slates on the Stone Roofing Association wesbite.