Custom home owner and architect's perspective on the difference between man made stone veneer and natural stone thin veneer from Stoneyard.com.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Silvermine bean Screw on bean appearance accession Stack-N-Tack bean (US & CanadaPATENT PENDING)
Here is a short video from Silvermine Stone Company demonstrating just how fast and easy it is to install Stack-N-Tack tm stone siding (US & Canada Patent Pending). Stack-N-Tack stone siding is an easy to install, mortarless architectural stone that can be nailed or screw on stone veneer surface. Stack-N-Tack tm stone siding is not only the easiest stone on the market to install, it is also durable and maintenance free. By eliminating the mortar process involved in traditional stone veneer applications we have dramatically cut down on the cost, labor and expertise needed to install our stone veneer. Simply stack it up and tack it on. Anyone can install Stack-N-Tack tm stone siding (US PATENT PENDING). For more information about our stone please visit us at www.silverminestone.com and thanks for watching! To order stone 715-835-7595
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Guidelines to Install Natural Stone Thin Veneer
While building a house, installing natural stone would be better than man-made materials. Nowadays many people are choosing natural stone as it has genuine color palette which cannot match man-made products. Some features of this stone are it is durable and does not chip easily.
It is available in two sizes: thin and full size. Natural stone thin Veneer has thickness ranging from 3/4 to 1-1/4. Due to its light weight, this stone can be installed fast compared to full size which will result in cost savings. Another major advantage is shipping costs are reduced because thin veneer can ship nearly 3600 square feet in a single truckload compared to 1000 square feet in standard veneer. This type of stone is available in same colors as standard veneer. Being natural, you cannot find the same stone. Being durable in nature, it has life time warranty. In addition, it can increase the value of your house and also Eco-friendly (Green building) in nature.
It gives your house a beautiful and elegant look at less cost. Basically there are two types of veneer: manufactured and natural thin stone veneer. Most of the manufactured stones are made by mixing cement, natural stone components and dyes which can give a look of natural stone. This type of stone is available in various colors that you imagine. Synthetic stones are thicker than natural stones. Synthetic stone requires waterproofing, cleaning and maintenance. It is not weather resistant.
Natural thin stone veneer can be installed around a fireplace enclosure. Other places where you can install are arches in a room, kitchens, bathroom and shower area or in living area of your home. This type of stone can be used on commercial and residential buildings.
It can be installed by contractors or the job can be done by you. Installing this type of stone is not too difficult, but if you are finding it difficult it to do the job on your own, you can hire contractors who will be happy to take up the job.
If you notice, many people are installing thin stone compared to full size because it gives an elegant and sophisticated look to your house. This type of stone can be used in lawns, patio, pool area, sidewalks and lining stone ceilings etc.
Some major benefits of thin stone are it is lightweight, does not chip, fade or discolor; durable; installed quickly and easily; available in various texture, sizes, shapes and colors; installed in many areas both inside and outside the home etc.
If you want to gather more knowledge about thin stone you can browse the internet. There are various sites that give you a broad outline about different types of thin stone.
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Sunday, December 11, 2011
DIY - Building Field Stone Columns
My husband and I wanted to add a little curb appeal to our house by taking our plain old front porch posts and adding field stone column bases and beefing up the posts into columns. We wanted a little curb appeal. We got a LOT of curb appeal! And we did it ourselves.
This project initially came to mind because the soil in our San Diego yard is VERY rocky and we have tons of field stone that has been dug up over the years from various projects. We thought, why not use it?! We began by looking for professional stone masons to do the job since we did not know how to. What we found was that the few people we called did not know how either. I am sure there are folks out there who still do this kind of work but we could not find them. I think since most people use cultured stone, stone veneer or concrete these days to simulate real field stone it is just not cost effective any more. That brings us to the second thing we realized; even if we had found someone, after doing the work ourselves and seeing the time it takes, we probably would not have been willing to pay what a professional would need to charge. It would just be too expensive. So if you want the look of real field stone columns (you can tell the difference if they are not) you can do it yourself cheap, but it will take some time and effort. But wow! The look is worth it!
We did some practice projects first which only reinforced the fact that we did not know how to do this. They just did not look right. We realized from looking at other people's columns that the important thing was that the corner stones needed to be stacked on top of each other to make the column a square. We found a simple diagram on line that showed how to install guide lines at the corners of where you want your columns to be so you can follow these lines and keep your corners straight.
The following instructions are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to give you a good idea of how the project will go and what it entails. You will need to do more research on the technical details you may need to know before being able to complete this project.
You will first need to determine what diameter you want your columns to be and how high you want them to go. Ours are approximately 18 inches per side and about 3 feet high. You must begin by pouring concrete bases for your columns to rest on for sturdy support. Then if you are building around existing wood posts as we were, you must waterproof the posts. We used roofing tar. After the guide lines are in place, (we used simple string lines taped in place from floor to ceiling. Be sure they are at at true vertical!) the stone work can begin. It is really quite simple but does take attention to detail and time. My husband and I worked as a team and we each had our jobs to do.
Mix up a batch of mortar, you will need enough to set two courses of stone for each column (2 high) and you will want the mortar to be on the thick side. Two courses of stone are all you can really do at a time or the weight of the stone and mortar will place too much pressure on what is below it and cause it to squish out. We did 4 columns and started by just working on 1 until we felt we knew we were doing a good job. After that we worked on the remaining 3 simultaneously, doing 2 courses on each of the three at at time. Between courses the mortar must set for several hours before laying the next course on top. You will quickly become familiar with the mortar and how it feels and behaves as it is setting and will be able to judge when it is time to set the next courses. Also refer to the instructions on the bag.
On the bottom level use a trowel and lay a base of mortar for your first course of stones to set in. An inch or two of mortar is sufficient. Choose your stones (they should be at least softball size or larger) and place them carefully so that the corner stones line up just inside the string and the other stones are nicely spaced and with attractive sides facing out. Then begin to fill in all around them, packing the mortar without moving the stones. Be sure to get all the air pockets out and add enough on top of your first stones to place your second layer. Feel free to use much smaller stones to fill in the interior areas that will not be seen.
While working, do not worry about getting mortar on the outside of your stones. Keep a bucket of clean water and a sponge nearby and as long as you wipe the residue off within a half hour or so you will have no problem. You will find as you work that there is a certain artistry to this work and you can work with the mortar blending and shaping it for quite some time as it dries. In the same way, blending the mortar between the courses is easy and when you are done and all the mortar is set it will be impossible to see where one course of stones ended and another began. The mortar blends perfectly.
After you have set your first 2 layers of stones use your hands (always wearing gloves as you work, the mortar is very caustic to skin) to shape the mortar and push it into place where you want it as it dries. After the mortar has begun to set, work with the water and sponge smoothing the mortar and shaping it and cleaning off the outsides of the stones so they do not have a film on them. In this way you will proceed with all the courses of stone until the columns are as high as you want them to be. When you reach your desired height be sure to have the top be as level as possible and then add capstones of some type to give it a finished look. We used travertine tiles attached by building a jig to hold them in place while the mortar dried since we had to work around an existing post.
For our final step we beefed up the posts by wrapping them in 1 x 6 lumber, and trimmed the tops and bottoms with 2 x 2 lumber. Be sure to prime and paint all wood surfaces to protect against rain and water intrusion.
This is a great Do It Yourself project. It can be time consuming, each section of work may take a couple of hours when you take into account mixing the mortar, laying the stones, doing the finishing work and cleaning your tools, but the results are satisfying and well worth it for this classic look.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Custom Stone Looks, StoneCraft Stone Veneer by the Tapco Group
StoneCraft's easy to install manufactured stone veneers are cost effective and available in an array of beautiful colors and styles.
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Stone Fireplace
The Stone Fireplace can provide a mysterious look to an interior of a house, using stone structures to add warmth and depth to a room is not an uncommon feature in interior design. People who choose to have a stone fireplace in their house should be aware that the stone has a very dramatic and strong presence in the room, and it will not go un noticed, some feel that the stone gives a room a medieval feeling and does not compliment modern furniture and style, but this is obviously a choice of the home owner.
Adding extra features next to a stone fire place will combine the elements into a solid design statement, if the people living in the house would not object to having more stone or iron furniture placed in the vicinity of the fireplace you can create a flow of stone and iron elements and create a sort of medieval, 1500's sort of look, which can be great in some spaces, especially if it is a room that is not used on a daily basis.
In the past fire places designs were very traditional, and usually comprised the same material and same basic building plan, this made most of the fire places to look the same and feel the same in any given room. In the last 20 years there have been enormous changes to this market, especially due to the fact that people wanted a unique fireplace, this is especially true to places where winter is hard and long and the fireplace is a focal point in the house.
There are modern designs that combine stone, wood and metal, to create a very plain and strong industrial look, emphasizing the usability of the features in the space and letting unique and specially designed parts to speak for themselves, this is why a stone fireplace will be perfect in this kind of an environment, it is also possible to paint the stone, or bleach the bricks so they will not appear dark but have a more bright color, this will bring more luminosity into the room and will also allow the home owners not to break to color theme if they got a light colored living room.
Combining wood and stone can create a very impressive fireplace, both natural materials and are also the base of the fireplace essentials, a wood frame to a stone fireplace base will create a feeling of warmth and will probably not disturb any existing design statements that may already be in the room.
Last but not least, stone made fire places sound great but not everyone likes them, you should make sure that you can live with a stone fireplace before you even start shopping around for one, for those who already know that stone designs are their favorites there is not a question here, but what kind of stone fireplace will it be.
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