Existing non-destructive techniques for analysis of the water absorbing behavior of stone material have a different nature. This leads to discrepancies in practical application and measuring area, resulting in difficulties when comparing results of different methods. The present study focuses on the comparison of different non-destructive methods in terms of practical application, influence of variable factors and accuracy in relation to the open porosity and the capillary rise measurements. The comparison was based on repetitive measurements and X-ray and neutron radiography of the water absorption by lithotypes with a varying open porosity. The methods under study are the Karsten tube (KT), the contact sponge method (CSM) and the Mirowski pipe (MIR). It can be concluded that KT and CSM have complementary fields of investigation, whereas MIR produces unreliable results due to practical discommodities. The most significant variable factor influencing the measurements is the surface of the contact area. A study of analytical models describing the capillary water absorption as reference for interpretation of results of the different methods is currently ongoing
