Home Advice from JRE

reply by: James River Ext. - 12-18-2006 |  8:38PM

Natural Stone is a natural product that is either quarried in rock quarries or found naturally occuring in fields or streams. There are two main types of natural stones. There are \"thin\" veneer products and \"building\" stones. Thin veneer stones are 2-3\" thick and do not require additional structural support for them to be installed as exterior building veneers. This would include the use of lintels, lintels are not necessary. The biggest drawback to thin veneers are that are not able to be laid in a ledge style pattern and they do not have \"full corners\". Thin veneers are typically laid in mortar set mosaic patterns. Building stones can be used as structural materials, but are still typically used as veneers for retaining walls and foundations. Building stones are much more expensive because they require a lot more stone and the labor is extremely expensive for this installation. Buidling stones can be laid in ledgestone patterns. Due to the weight of building stones they do require additional structural support and the use of lintels and wall ties. Manufactured stones are man-made stones that are made in factories using cement, rubber molds, and iron oxide pigments. The rubber molds give the stone the desired texture (there are multiple patterns like river rocks, cobblestones, ledgestones, etc). The iron oxide dies provide the color range. There are numerous colors available. Manufactured stones are typically referred to as Cultured Stone when in fact Cultured Stone is a brand name made by the Owens Corning Corp. There are several different manufactured stone manufacturers. Manufactured stones typically weigh 6-8lbs per square foot and do not need additonal structural support. The biggest negative to manufactured stones is that they are not \"natural\" and if they are chipped or cracked, they will look like concrete. There is also concern of the color fastness with manufactured stones, most manufacturers guarantee their products for fifty years. Please field additional questions or concerns. To be continued. . .