Abstract: Currently, there are over twenty European quality standards related to the methods of testing natural stone. These quality standards describe the determinations of density, porosity, frost resistance or abrasiveness. In the paper, the authors focus on the tests of capillary absorbability of rock materials. The tests described in the paper present what the diversification of test results looks like, using all possible variants of the research procedure which are indicated by the quality standard in question. Samples of different dimensions and shapes were compared. The authors have also proposed an alternative methodology for testing capillary adsorption, involving the isolation of the side wall of a sample in order to enable the highest possible precision in representing the actual conditions under which rock elements work. The representation of the actual conditions under which the given material will be working in a laboratory is a very important factor, indicating the fact that the conducted tests have their reflection in reality. By getting acquainted with the quality standards in question and analysing the research procedures, it may be concluded that rocks are considered to be a homogeneous material. In reality, that is not the case. Rocks are the most diverse group of materials. Unlike ceramic materials or concrete products, for which we are capable of designing a mixture, which would fulfil our expectations without much trouble, rocks are an unpredictable material which was created thousands and millions of years ago, and on which at this moment we have no influence whatsoever. In this article, we are dealing with highly diverse porosity, microstructure or even anisotropy. All these factors affect the test results. Due to this, when conducting the tests of rock materials, the samples should be selected in a manner which would make them representative for the given portion of the rock. It is a very important process, which should be executed with awareness and care, in order to make sure that the results obtained by us accurately reflect the actual parameters of the material. To this end, it is necessary to possess proper knowledge about rocks, the whole deposit and the genesis of its creation.
B I B L I O G R A F I A[1] PN-EN 1925:2001, “Natural stone test methods – Determination of water absorption coefficient by capillarity”, European Committee for Standardization, 2001.
[2] K. Skowera, “Analysis of Frost Resistance and Physical Properties of Devonian Compact Limestones Deriving from one Deposit”, Structure and Environment, vol. 8, pp. 31-36, 2016.
[3] K. Skowera, Z. Rusin, “Physical differentiation of Devonian limestones from the same bed rock in the context of frost resistance”, Typescript, 2018.
[4] Z. Rusin, et al., “The use of Differential Analysis of Volumetric Strains (RAO) method in the diagnostics of aggregates and stone materials with regard to their frost resistance”, Project of NCBiR number N R04 0006 10/2011
[5] EN 12504, “Testing concrete in structures. Cored specimens. Taking, examining and testing in compression”, European Committee for Standardization, 2009. 
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