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Skills Required for a DIY Stone Veneer Project

The skills required for any DIY stone veneer project will depend on the materials and methods used for the job. For instance, if you opt to use natural stone cut for use as a veneer, you will need good building skills even if you don’t cut the stone to size yourself. If, on the other hand, you decide to use man-made stone veneer, it will be a lot easier and quicker to install. And if you choose to use Native Custom Stone’s ingenious Go-Stone Panels, you don’t need any special skills at all.

Generally, natural stone veneer is a job for the professionals. Because of the weight, it will require a foundation, and the cut-stone veneer units will have to be laid in mortar. Depending on the size of the stone used, it might even need steel reinforcing.

Manufactured stone is a lot easier to work with, and it doesn’t usually need any concrete foundation or base. Go-Stone panels are even lighter

Skills Needed for a Faux Stone Veneer Project

Our #21 Aspen Ridge CustomFit Panels

Most faux stone veneer projects require basic building skills including knowledge of how to ensure everything is straight and square, as well as level and plumb. In essence, for any structure to be square it must have right-angled corners, horizontal surfaces must be flat and level and vertical surface must be plumb. All this means is that you need to know how to measure correctly and how to use a torpedo or spirit level since these tools allow you to check both horizontal and vertical surfaces. A builders’ square is useful for testing that corners are at right-angles.

While some faux stone veneer products can be laid dry and stacked without mortar, it is often better to use mortar. You can buy a pre-mixed product that comes in one bag for this.

It might take a bit of practice using a trowel to lay the mortar on the stone veneer, but it isn’t particularly different. If you work systematically, checking your vertical and horizontal levels as you go, there is no reason why you can’t achieve a professional finish.

Go-Stone is a unique product made partially from rubber tires. Because it comes in panels, it is a quicker process than laying a faux stone veneer. Nevertheless, you will need the same basic skills that relate to ensuring the veneer is straight, level, and plumb. Instead of working with mortar, Go-Stone panels are laid using a ceramic tile and stone adhesive.

Whether you opt for a faux stone veneer or Go-Stone panels, Native Custom Stone has products that offer lots of choices of finish and color. You’ll wonder why you ever considered using natural stone!

Using Custom Stone Veneer vs. Natural Stone for Your Project

Natural stone creates an amazing effect in homes and gardens, for walls and for feature structures including fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, water features and planters. But there’s a certain irony about this statement because you can create exactly the same effect using a custom stone veneer, and you’ll find it’s generally easier, cheaper, and much more manageable to maintain.

River Rock

While there is a certain mystique about natural stone, largely based on tradition and the age-old skills of practiced stonemasons, modern technology has enabled us to manufacture faux stone in various forms, including veneer. Custom stone veneer and other faux stone products are perfect for both construction and finishing projects. Stone veneer is also a great tool for revamping and renovating walls and other indoor and outdoor features.

Effects You Can Create Using Custom Stone Veneer

Here’s another irony: unless you have an unlimited budget for natural stone, you have many more choices in terms of the effects created by using faux stone and veneers than you do when using natural stone. The reason is simple. When you use the natural stone from the area where you live, you are limited to what stone occurs naturally. If you opt for faux stone blocks or custom stone veneer you are limited only by the range produced by an accessible manufacturer like Native Custom Stone.

The reality is that manufacturers offering manufactured stone veneer products have dozens of styles and colors. There are also numerous different finishes and sizes that will give you the opportunity to copy any effect from an elegant castle stone finish to a typical rubble effect like the traditional ashlar, commonly used in southern USA.

Alternatively, you might want something that looks as if it was built using genuine fieldstone or perhaps river rocks. No need to go into the field or seek out a river, a good quality custom stone veneer or manufactured stone will provide you with the materials you need.

Working With Stone Veneer Rather Than Natural Stone

Custom Fit Stone

Traditional stonemasons didn’t need university degrees to do their work, but they did need incredible skills that were generally passed down through the generations.

While stone can be used in the form of boulders or random blocks, unless you are building a rockery or irregular dry-stone structure, the stone will need to be cut into blocks or slabs that will slot together or enable them to be laid neatly and effectively. Natural stone is heavy and can be challenging to cut.

Stone veneer, on the other hand, is available in the form of individual units or simple panels. Interlocking panels in particular, are very easy to install without any skills at all, other than the ability to use a spirit level to ensure they are laid level. They are also lightweight and easy to handle. Furthermore, no foundations or additional structural support is required and they can be used to clad a variety of frame types, both metal and wood, or even a masonry structure.

Typically natural stone walls vary in size from about 2 to 30 ins (or 51 to 762 mm). Manufactured stone veneer, on the other hand, is substantially thinner than natural stone blocks, varying in size from about 1 to 3 ins (or 25 to no more than 76 mm), partly dependent on the texture chosen.

So if you like the effect of natural stone, explore the options offered by the Native Custom Stone range of veneer products.

 

 

 

How to Create a Backyard Firepit with Manufactured Stone

Have you ever gone on vacation and they had the little cabanas at your hotel or restaurant with the outside fire pits? It is always so relaxing to sit out there and watch the fire burn as it starts to get dark. Well with some Native Custom Stone’s manufactured stone and a little hard work you can bring that experience right into your own back yard!

If you like working with your hands then you should make a Manufactured Stone Fire Pit your next project. Before you start check the building codes in your area to see what you are and what you aren’t allowed to do. Then find a spot that is a little apart from any structure and not under any trees. It also helps to check where your utility lines are before you start digging any holes.

Once you have all that taken care of you will have to gather up the following materials:

  • custom stone firepit | native custom stoneCast concrete wall stones
  • Native Custom Stone Capstones
  • Sand
  • A shovel
  • Tape measure
  • Level
  • A rake

After you have everything together, you just need to follow these simple steps:

  • Lay out your manufactured stone in a circle where you want your Fire Pit to go. Decide how big of a diameter you want your fire pit to be and adjust accordingly. Most fire pits measure about 40 inches in diameter but it is up to you.
  • Once you have a good idea of where the pit will be and how big you want it, you can start to dig out your hole. It should be about a foot deep when you are finished.
  • Pour the sand into the bottom of the hole and pack it down thoroughly
  • Next place your concrete wall stones around the sides of the hole and continue laying them down until it sticks out a foot above the ground. The last layer of stones should be the capstones. When you are finished fill the hole in with sand until it is about 5 inches from the top of the stone ring and you are done.

How to Care for a Cultured Stone Fireplace

The associates at Native Custom Stone have already taught us how to install a cultured stone fireplace using their stone panels, but now we need to talk about the proper way to care for a cultured stone fireplace to keep it looking great for years to come.

It doesn’t take much to care for your cultured stone fireplace, all you will need is:

    • A Vacuum Cleaner with Brush Attachment
    • A Vacuum Hose Extension
    • Broom 
    • Water 
    • Cleaning Rag
  • Cultured Stone Fireplace | Manufactured Stone | Native Custom StoneStep 1 – Vacuum the entire surface of your fireplace. Make sure to get mantles and remove all décor to ensure a thorough cleaning. Use your vacuum’s brush attachment to gently loosen the dust and debris, you don’t want to use the exposed hose and accidentally scratch your stone. Use the extender for high or hard to reach places.
  • Step 2 – Use a rag moistened with water, or manufactured stone cleaner if your prefer, to get rid of stubborn spots of debris. Make sure that you allow the cleaner to dry completely before lighting a new fire, as some of the chemicals can be flammable.
  • Step 3 – Use your broom to sweep up any mess made that the vacuuming may have missed or knocked to the floor. For extra cleaning power use your wet rag to get in the grout along the base of your fireplace, and to wipe up stubborn dust that may be on the floor.

Native Custom Stone recommends that you do this once a month to maintain a beautiful fireplace. These same methods can be used on interior and exterior fireplaces, though your exterior fireplace may need a little extra elbow grease and hose down to get it clean.

If you haven’t already chosen to install a cultured stone fireplace, find your closest Native Custom Stone vendor to choose the perfect cultured stone for a beautiful new fireplace.

 

4 Reasons to Use Faux Stone on Your Fireplace…

A fireplace adds a lot to a home beyond the heat it gives off. It is usually the first thing that visitors see when entering the home and it is the focal point for family gatherings and parties. Since it is so important, people often pay exorbitant prices to build natural stone fireplaces. It is unfortunate because an experienced Faux Stone Company could build a fireplace using faux stone at a fraction of the price and it would be indistinguishable from natural stone.

Price is only one reason that you should have a Faux Stone Company build your fireplace for you. Faux stone is also:

  • Faux Stone | Fireplace | Native Custom StoneMore Durable – Stone may seem indestructible but if you have kids you will soon find out how easily it can be chipped and scratched. Faux stone is hard enough to withstand shocks and does not deteriorate over time
  • Widely Varied – Because of the high cost of shipping, most people just use the stone from the area they are in. It can be horribly limiting and give your projects a certain sameness. When using faux stone you can pick styles from around the world and mix and match to your heart’s content. You can find the perfect blend of colors and design to fit your personal preference and home décor.
  • Easy to Clean – Since Faux stone is stain resistant it can maintain its new look for years and years. Some materials are extremely difficult to clean but when it comes time to give your faux fireplace a once over, you can get the job done with some soap and water.
  • Beautiful – If you already have an existing fireplace then you can use faux stone to add in design features and aesthetic touches. It can really spruce up the old fireplace and give it a new life.

So, if you are considering adding a fireplace to your home, be sure to use a great faux stone manufacturer. You’ll be glad you did.

Top 3 Reasons You Should Use Manufactured Stone

Natural stone has always been associated with quality and luxury so it is often used in homes. With the increase in demand for natural stone the price has gradually risen until people started looking for a quality alternative. Many have found it in commercial manufactured stone products. Manufactured stone is made from concrete that has been poured into a mold for its shape and given iron oxide pigments for its coloration.

The products look exactly like natural stone but in reality, it is a veneer about 2 – 3 inches thick. This means that a manufactured stone product is a fraction of the weight of natural stone, making it much easier to work with. Once the stone veneer has been put into place, it can easily last for decades or more without deterioration.

If you are still considering using natural stone in your next construction project instead of commercial manufactured stone, then consider this:

  1. Adhered Stone VeneerManufactured stone is more efficient than natural stone. Natural stone will come in a range of shapes and sizes. Before it can be made to fit into a project it has to be cut and shaped. This is often very labor intensive and time consuming. Whereas manufactured stone can be cut into the shape needed and put into place with very little fuss.
  1. Commercial manufactured stone is cheaper to purchase than natural stone. Natural stone construction will need people with specialized skills, tools and materials like reinforced footing to hold up the enormous weight involved. Without these, a manufactured stone wall often costs 1/3 to ½ less than a natural stone wall.
  1. Manufactured stone is available in a much wider selection than natural stone. Natural stone is often found locally because it is so expensive to ship due to weight. Manufactured stone can be made to look like stone from anywhere in the world and it is light enough to ship if needed.

Using Manufactured Stone for Commercial Projects

Manufactured stone veneer offers many features that real stone can’t, and if taken advantage of it can make a big difference in the success of your next construction job.  If you are familiar with using natural stone in a lot of your projects, maybe reading a little bit about the great benefits of custom stone will changer your mind. You will have many projects done in half the time, at a fraction of the cost.

A few of the ways the manufactured stone surpasses natural stone are:

  1. Manufactured stone costs a small fraction of the current price for regular stone. This can come as a surprise to construction companies because they view natural stone as being cheap and plentiful.
  2. Since a manufactured stone veneer is all part of the same piece, it can be installed much faster than normal stone. This is a benefit to commercial locations that do not want part of their building to be off limits for an extended period of time because if foot traffic is impeded it can result in lost revenue.
  3. Manufactured stone veneers are much safer than a standard stone facing. If a natural stone were to come loose and hit someone it could cause serious injuries. Since the manufactured stone veneer is a single piece, you never have to worry about parts coming loose.
  4. You will stand out from the crowd. Most commercial companies want to look businesslike and stylish so they tend to use a lot of stone in their construction. It looks good but after awhile it all tends to blend together.  If you use a manufactured stone veneer, you can get any look that you want. You can have a veneer that perfectly emulates natural stone or you can have a veneer that perfectly reflects your own sense of style. You have complete control over how it will look in the end.

A great manufactured stone veneer is key when working on a commercial project. Customers are sure to be pleased with the quality, efficiency, and price of this great product.

5 Steps to a D.I.Y. Custom Stone Veneer Fireplace

A GA custom stone veneer fireplace can give you the perfect place to gather with friends and family on cold nights. It also adds a lot of value to your home with a fraction of the cost in comparison to natural stone. If you have a DIY frame of mind then with a little preparation, you can tackle the project yourself. Or even better, you may want to recruit a friend to lend a hand.

The following steps will help to illustrate the right way to install a custom stone fireplace:

  1. Measure twice, cut once – Go over your plans to see if they are simple enough for you to implement. Measure the wall and make sure that you have all the materials that you need on hand.
  2. Start sizing the stone – Whenever possible, let the stone merchant cut the stones to your specifications. They have the experience and tools to do a much better job than you would be able to do. If you do have to cut the stone yourself, make sure that you are using a diamond tipped drill.
  3. Time to mortar – Make sure that the mortar you are using was designed for the task at hand. Start assembling the fireplace according to your design and always remember to put the mortar on the sides of stones that can’t be easily seen. Let the mortar sit until it has fully dried.
  4. Final check – Once the mortar is dry, give the fireplace a close inspection to find any cracks that you may have missed. If you find one, seal it with more mortar.
  5. Clean Up – You can choose to seal your stone, but it’s not required. Now you’re ready to enjoy your new fireplace.

A great GA custom stone veneer manufacturer will have the perfect stone for your fireplace, or DIY project. Find a distributor near you and get started renovating your home today.

The Importance of Sealing your Manufactured Stone Veneer

Manufactured stone veneer from Native Custom Stone is a great alternative to natural stone. It cost tons less than natural stone, and is much easier to install. To keep your manufactured stone veneer looking great and lasting you do need to know the importance of sealing your manufactured stone after it’s installed.

Sealing your Manufactured Stone, or Custom Stone, prevents from:

  • Cracking or Chipping of the Stone and Mortar
  • Swelling and Breaking
  • Mortar from absorbing water
  • Color fastness in the Stone

If you are installing Manufactured Stone Veneer on the exterior of your home sealing it is crucial to prevent against weathering. If you don’t seal your Custom Stone Veneer you risk it becoming saturated and could break, crack, or lose color. Also, sealing your stone will help protect the Stone Veneer from mud and dirt stains.

However, if your custom stone is on the interior of your home it’s not mandatory, but it is recommended.

  • If you have a Custom Stone Fireplace you will want to make sure to prevent it from soot stains.
  • In bathrooms it’s important because of the excessive moisture in the air.
  • In Kitchens it really is a preference. If you install a counter top you are going to want to seal your stone to prevent against stains. However, if you have Custom Panels accenting areas in your kitchen you may want to protect them from accidents but, it’s not necessary.

The benefits of Manufactured Stone Veneer are abundant and you can use it all over your home. This type of stone is great for do-it-yourself projects or large contracting jobs. It’s light-weight and costs much less than Natural Stone, though it looks natural and beautiful in any setting. Native Custom Stone offers a large selection of Manufactured Stone Veneer. Have a look at their gallery and visit a distributor near you.

Top 5 Places to use Manufactured Stone Veneer in your Home

Your local faux stone supplier talks about these Top 5 most popular places to install Faux Stone in your home. Manufactured stone veneer is a material that’s becoming more used recently. Faux stone veneer can be added to almost any room, including its many outdoor uses. If you haven’t thought about manufactured stone veneer or you wanted to add more to your home take a look at this list below. You might think up another great home renovation idea!

The Top 5 Rooms and Spaces to use Manufactured Stone:

1.)    Finishing an above around basement. You can add manufactured stone directly to concrete to cover up what’s peeking out from under your home. It looks great and adds value to your house.

2.)    Manufactured Stone Panels can be used as siding to your home, window seals, or door frames. A classic, it will look as if you home is made entirely of stone. Not to mention that this type can be a do-it-yourself project!  It has gorgeous results!

3.)    Bathroom and Kitchen counters and cabinets are another wonderful idea! It will give your home a timeless elegance and great functionality.

4.)    Fireplaces look wonderful accented in manufactured stone veneer.

5.)    Outdoors you can use manufactured stone veneer to accent gazebos, archways, and pool side areas. It looks great and has relatively low maintenance.neer. As if the fire wasn’t warm enough the stone makes the room much more inviting and cozy.

So, as you can see there are so many uses for manufactured stone veneer in your home. Hopefully this opened you up to all of the potential your home has. Most manufactured stone veneer has the capability to be a do-it-yourself project. There are so many styles to choose from. Native Custom Stone has dozens of styles and designs to make sure you find the perfect fit for your home. Please, don’t hesitate, give them a call today!