Stone Veneer Contractor: Everything You Need To Know About Stone Veneers

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Stone veneers serve as a decorative and protective cover for vertical walls and surfaces. The cool thing about them is that you can use them both on the exterior or interior surfaces of the walls and surfaces. The units come in different thicknesses and weights. According to stone veneer experts, the standard weight of the units is 15 pounds per square foot while the desired thickness is 1 inch.

Guide on how to make stone veneers

You can make the veneers from two types of stones: natural and manufactured stones. Natural stones are often collected from the fields. You can also get them from the quarries. After collecting the stones, you should work with your stone veneer contractor and cut them to the desired weight and thickness. Manufactured stone veneers, on the other hand, are made from artificial stones that are curved to resemble the natural stones. They are mainly used to provide a decorative cover.

Fabrication of the manufactured stone veneers

To improve the look of the veneer, it’s common for people to fabricate them. To fabricate a manufactured stone veneer you need to pour a mixture of a lightweight concrete to different forms of rubber. You should then paint the units using a coloring process that makes it resemble a real stone. Once you are done you should work with your contractor and attach the veneer to the walls using a special mortar. If the veneers are thin, fabricate them using a thin layer of slab supported by a composite material.

How natural stone veneers compare to manufactured stone veneers

Manufactured stone veneers have a number of advantages over their natural counterparts:

  • Cheaper cost of material and installation
  • Comes in a number of colors and designs
  • Have a decorative element

Despite these advantages, the manufactured stone veneers have some disadvantages when compared to the natural stone. These disadvantages are:

  • They are not stronger when compared to the natural stone
  • The pieces of the manufactured stone are not reusable, unlike in natural stones.
  • Manufactured stones can cause a stain on the wall surface when exposed to water because they contain lime nuggets. This is a characteristic that natural stones do not have.
  • The lifespan of manufactured stone veneers is short compared to the lifespan of natural stone veneers.

Conclusion

Stone veneers are important in the integrity of your building. Regardless of the ones that you choose to go for, work with an experienced and certified masonry contractor.

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