Veneer Stone vs. Pure Stone

You may need seen pretty reveals of veneer stone or pure stone on the partitions of properties or corporations. If in case you have got a difficult time telling veneer stone apart from pure stone, that is completely by the producers’ design.

The veneer stone enterprise is doing its best to displace pure stone as a result of the masonry overlaying of different for dwelling exterior cladding, fireside surrounds, and every kind of inside touches. How are you going to tell the two apart? Which stone product do it’s important to purchase and arrange in your dwelling cladding, fireside, wainscot, and totally different architectural particulars?

What Is Veneer Stone?

Veneer stone, architectural stone, manufactured stone, and Cultured Stone (a Boral agency trademark sometimes used to level manufactured stone) are fully totally different names for what is definitely the similar product: engineered stone meant to appear like pure stone.

This product is a slurry of Portland cement, aggregates, and iron oxides baked in textured molds to appear 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 type that is utilized in properties, is 100-percent stone quarried straight from the earth, with nothing added or eradicated and no coloration parts. Pure stone may very well be wholly precise in kind, resembling rounded river stones. Or pure stone may very well be carved to the desired kind, resembling blocks for developing, sheets for partitions, or tiles for flooring.

Structural Use

Manufactured veneer stone is simply too weak to be used structurally for developing features. Veneer stone can keep up its private weight, however it could possibly’t carry additional weight. Veneer stone isn’t used for flooring. Precise stacked stone isn’t found with veneer stone since veneer stone is just that: a veneer. Nonetheless, veneer stone can effectively mimic the look of stacked stone.

Pure stone could be utilized structurally, though that’s turning right into a unusual comply with in fashionable developing. Everytime you want real stacked stone, it’s important to use pure stone. Some pure stone, resembling slate, is simply too brittle for structural makes use of. Pure stone, resembling travertine, is often used for pathways, flooring, and partitions.

Dimension, Weight, and Thickness

Full-dimension veneer stone begins at spherical two inches thick and can improve to spherical six to eight inches thick. A sub-category generally known as skinny stone veneer ranges from 1-inch to 2-inch thick. Veneer stone face sizes may very well be as large as 14 inches in diameter. Veneer stone is about half the load of pure stone of the similar measurement.

Pure stone on the broad shopper market principally is offered 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 need. For a veneer-style cowl, pure stone is quarried after which decrease into slices with an industrial-size, very like a moist tile observed.

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 inclined to stop at spherical 18 inches in diameter. Pure stone is approach heavier than veneer stone. As an example, pure fieldstone is about 13 kilos per sq. foot, larger 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 is often a tempting purchase, nonetheless sometimes, its look is lacking. It might probably have extraordinarily repetitive patterns (or monochromatic colors) and be as little as one inch in thickness. Be sure 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 isn’t repetitive, and often it has a pleasant look. Top quality can sharply fluctuate, though. Pure stone’s colors can fade with daylight nonetheless at such gradual prices that it may not be noticed 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 terms of arrange, the first variations between manufactured veneer stone and pure stone are weight and density. Manufactured stone is approach easier to take care of 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 may very well be put in immediately on porous concrete, stone, or block. If the ground is straightforward, you probably can join metal lath and a scratch masonry coat to supply a ground 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 totally different skinny provides. Ensuing from its density, pure stone is troublesome to cut.

Producers and Suppliers

The document of manufactured veneer stone companies will improve regularly as the popularity of this product will improve. Successfully-known producers of veneer stone embody:

Suppliers of pure stone are sometimes native for the reason that worth of transport to specific individual patrons may very well be prohibitive.

Should 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 do this if the arrange course of is roughly the similar between the two?

Predictability is one motive why DIYers select manufactured veneer stone over pure stone. Manufactured veneer stone is offered in predictable sizes which is likely to be simple to carry, decrease, and maintain. For faster arrange, some manufactured stone merchandise arrange as larger sq. panels (2-foot by 2-foot) and with out having for mortar or grout.

For prime-end or historically right installations, pure stone is also the best choice.