75th Anniversary of BS1217 for Cast Stone
The UK has a long history in the manufacture and use of cast stone and in 2020 the original British Standard for Cast Stone, BS 1217, reached its 75th anniversary, having been first issued in April 1945. Although the standard for cast stone has been changed and improved over the years, BS 1217 remains one of the longest standing British Standards which is still in existence.
The original 1945 version of the British Standard for Cast Stone, BS 1217:1945, required the compressive strength of cast stone cubes to “be not less than 2500 lb. per sq. in.” This represents a compressive strength of only 17 N/mm2 (17 MPa).
Since 1945 the British Standard compressive strength requirement for Cast Stone has increased to a minimum of 25 MPa, and the United Kingdom Cast Stone Association (UKCSA) require its manufacturing members to achieve a minimum cube compressive strength of 35 MPa. This represents a minimum increase in strength of 40% over the current British Standard BS 1217:2008, and over double the strength requirement of the original Standard BS 1217:1945.
