Veneer Stone vs. Pure Stone

You’ll have seen pretty exhibits of veneer stone or pure stone on the partitions of properties or corporations. You most likely have a troublesome time telling veneer stone apart from pure stone, that is totally by the producers’ design.

The veneer stone enterprise is doing its most interesting to displace pure stone as a result of the masonry overlaying of different for dwelling exterior cladding, fireside surrounds, and all types of inside touches. How are you going to tell the two apart? Which stone product should you purchase and arrange in your dwelling cladding, fireside, wainscot, and completely different architectural particulars?

What Is Veneer Stone?

Veneer stone, architectural stone, manufactured stone, and Cultured Stone (a Boral agency trademark often used to level manufactured stone) are completely completely different names for what is definitely the equivalent product: engineered stone meant to look like pure stone.

This product is a slurry of Portland cement, aggregates, and iron oxides baked in textured molds to look like stone. Cement lends stability to the product and iron oxides current pigments. Veneer stone should not be confused with pretend veneer stone, a high-density polymer product that feels nearer to Styrofoam than to stone.

What Is Pure Stone?

Pure stone, of the kind that is utilized in properties, is 100-percent stone quarried straight from the earth, with nothing added or eradicated and no shade parts. Pure stone could possibly be wholly precise in kind, similar to rounded river stones. Or pure stone could possibly be carved to the required kind, similar to blocks for establishing, sheets for partitions, or tiles for flooring.

Structural Use

Manufactured veneer stone is just too weak to be used structurally for establishing features. Veneer stone can preserve up its private weight, nonetheless it could actually’t carry additional weight. Veneer stone is not used for flooring. Precise stacked stone is not found with veneer stone since veneer stone is solely that: a veneer. Nonetheless, veneer stone can effectively mimic the look of stacked stone.

Pure stone will be utilized structurally, though that’s turning into a unusual observe in fashionable establishing. Whilst you want real stacked stone, it’s a must to use pure stone. Some pure stone, similar to slate, is just too brittle for structural makes use of. Pure stone, similar to travertine, is commonly used for pathways, flooring, and partitions.

Measurement, Weight, and Thickness

Full-dimension veneer stone begins at spherical two inches thick and can enhance to spherical six to eight inches thick. A sub-category often called skinny stone veneer ranges from 1-inch to 2-inch thick. Veneer stone face sizes could possibly be as big as 14 inches in diameter. Veneer stone is about half the load of pure stone of the equivalent measurement.

Pure stone on the large shopper market largely is accessible in two sizes. Full-size blocks roughly the measurement of 1 or two retaining wall blocks can current full-dimension safety and the stacked look that many house owners want. For a veneer-style cowl, pure stone is quarried after which scale back into slices with an industrial-size, very similar to a moist tile seen.

Though veneer, that’s nonetheless 100-percent pure stone and measures about 3/4-inch to 1 3/4-inch thick. Face sizes for pure stone depend on the type of stone nonetheless are prone to stop at spherical 18 inches in diameter. Pure stone is method heavier than veneer stone. As an illustration, pure fieldstone is about 13 kilos per sq. foot, better than twice the load of manufactured veneer stone.

Look and Coloration Fastness

Veneer stone’s colors can fade over time. Low cost, inferior manufactured stone typically is a tempting purchase, nonetheless often, its look is lacking. It would most likely have extraordinarily repetitive patterns (or monochromatic colors) and be as little as one inch in thickness. You may need to be taught the producer’s specs sooner than shopping for and order samples. With veneer stone, top quality tends to be fixed.

Pure stone is not repetitive, and usually it has a stunning look. Prime quality can sharply differ, though. Pure stone’s colors can fade with daylight nonetheless at such sluggish expenses that it will not be seen inside a person’s lifetime.

Arrange Procedures

Manufactured veneer stone installs with lath, a scratch coat, mortar, and grout or no grout for the dry-stack look. In the case of arrange, the first variations between manufactured veneer stone and pure stone are weight and density. Manufactured stone is method less complicated to cope with and to cut than pure stone because of it is porous and lightweight. Manufactured veneer stone lends itself to do-it-yourself arrange additional so than does pure stone.

Pure stone could possibly be put in immediately on porous concrete, stone, or block. If the ground is straightforward, you’ll join metallic lath and a scratch masonry coat to provide a flooring for skinny sheets of stone to grip. Grout is added between the stones. Alternatively, the stones can go grout-free for a dry-stack look. Pure stone cannot be put in on drywall or completely different skinny provides. Due to its density, pure stone is hard to cut.

Producers and Suppliers

The guidelines of manufactured veneer stone firms will enhance regularly as the popularity of this product will enhance. Successfully-known producers of veneer stone embody:

Suppliers of pure stone are often native because the worth of supply to specific particular person patrons could possibly be prohibitive.

Must You Arrange Veneer Stone or Pure Stone?

Why use man-made veneer stone if the following product is additional homogeneous than pure stone? And why try this if the arrange course of is roughly the equivalent between the two?

Predictability is one motive why DIYers favor manufactured veneer stone over pure stone. Manufactured veneer stone is accessible in predictable sizes which is likely to be simple to carry, scale back, and cling. For sooner arrange, some manufactured stone merchandise arrange as greater sq. panels (2-foot by 2-foot) and with out having for mortar or grout.

For top-end or historically appropriate installations, pure stone may be your only option.