Logo

Manufactured stone is used on entryways, as accent walls and even to create the illusion of an old stone building. Whether it's meant to complement a home's exterior or create a fatal point inside a home, where manufactured wane is applied to a house is limited only by one's imagination.

 

The manufactured stone product category remains in the early stages of growth, and its

use continues to increase in both new con­struction and remodeling projects. Reports suggest that another $500 million could be added over the next three years to this already $1 billion category.

 

 

Exterior Accents

 

On the exterior of a home, manufactured stone is being used on entryways, around doors, under porches, on columns, as wain­scoting and even on some smaller applications like a foundation cover around the perimeter of a home.

 

"What we've found is there isn't any par­ticular style of home that is using manufac­tured stone," says David Barren, president of United Stone Veneer by PlyGem. "We have a stone profile that fits just about any style home that you build- Whether it's a Craftsman or old-world look or even a Tra­ditional Cape Cod, we have a stone profile That fits those needs."

Manufactured stone covers the gamut of home styles, from a contemporary home with products that are clean-lined and smooth, to a more rustic style stone for the farmhouse look. Manufacturers offer stone veneers in all shapes, sizes and colors. Depending on the size of the project, stone profiles could be blended together to create something truly unique.

 

"We have a stone that emulates a New York Brownstone so if you live in the city and have that style of home, you con pick that stone for your project," says Ramsay I^-lawfield, director of product development, Eldorado Stone. "Plus, manufactured stone products fit all sorts of home price ranges. We've seen it on $150,000 homes and $7 million homes."

Manufactured stone is used in outdoor living spaces more and more each day. As homeowners create outdoor spaces with living rooms, hearths, kitchens and patios, manufac­tured stone is being used to accent outdoor fireplaces, or even stoning-in high-end grills to create an outdoor kitchen island.

 

 

 

A home's entryway can be transformed by applying manufactured stone,

such as United Stone Veneer by PIyGem shown here

 

Interior Motifs

 

"We're starting to see the product used more on interior ^projects," Barrett says. The standard used to be putting stone around a fireplace. Now we're starling to see kitchens designed with stone, staircases, indoor col­umn work and some accent walls."

 

Designers are dealing nontraditional uses of manufactured stone and specifying more of it inside a home. This includes backsplashes in kitchens instead of tile, behind the slave, and around the wall that frames a refrigera­tor. Besides kitchens, manufactured stone can also be found in family rooms, as an accent in great roams, in wine cellars and in bathroom applications.

 

I would say that right now, The most popular places (for manufactured stone( inside the home are kitchen and family room accents," says Kelly Warren, product man­ager, Stone Craft, purl of the Tapco Building Products Group. 'That's what we've seen really take off over the last 12 to 18 months."

 

To aid designers with interior imagination, Eldorado Slone has created its Gemstone wall concept. This was conceived to show design­ers and architects what can be done inside with manufactured stone. The Gemstone wall concept takes a blank wall and shows three simple ideas of what can be done to make it more purposeful and a focal point.

 

One of these walls is focused on a dining/ entertaining area that includes wine storage. Another area is designed to create a spa environment in the bathroom, while a third Gemstone wall focuses on pic­ture hanging. To make it simpler, designers con go to Eldorado's website and download a PDF that provides the steps needed to create the space, such as framing needs, the different stones used in the project or recommendations on other stones that could he used.

 

"The trend a few years ago was to point one wall a deep vibrant color," StoneCraft's Warren adds, "Now we ore finding people using manufactured stone for those interior accent walls.'

 

 

Eldorado Stone illustrates the dramatic effect manufactured stone con hove on a room with these before and offer images

 

Regional Recipes

 

What consumers are asking for varies across the country and is dependent on the types of stone native to an area. For instance, in some parts of the Midwest, stone is muted and nor vibrantly colored. Its shape tends to be geometric, creating a kind of squared­ off limestone look. In northern parts of the Midwest, however, where cabin retreats are the norm, there is a liv_er rock look which reflects a rounded stone simulatin_g the type ^,of stone found in a riverbed.

 

 

Adding stone inside a home can dramatically change the mood in a kitchen, shown here with Stone Craft products by The Tapco Group

 

 

In tire South and Southwest many designs use a ledge stone in several different variet­ies. II depends on what is indigenous to an area and what people see as natural stone. From the Carolinas south, a more rough -faced, geometric-looking ledge stone is used and typically is dry stacked with no mortar.

 

In Pennsylvania or Ohio limestone is typi­cal, but fieldstone with larger cut profiles and more vibrancy in color are becoming popular because native stone shares this look in those areas. Moving farther into the Northeast, inure fieldstone products are used with a mor­tar application because of the severe freeze/ thaw cycles.

 

 

Power of Imagination

 

"From an aesthetic standpoint manufactured stone has come a long way to a point where it's now hard to tell the difference between a manufactured stone veneer and a real stone," Barrett explains. "We've seen reports that show the rate of return on invest­ment has been as much as 200 percent on product and labor combined.

 

As with most building products, a few limitations exist for manufactured stone. For instance, it is not designed for load-bearing applications such as a paver, on a sidewalk or driveway. II also shouldn't be submerged in water such as in a pond or pool, or below grace. Height restrictions are based on the structure and the substrate that generally are regulated by the local building code.

 

Some consider one of the best benefits of manufactured stone to be the ^ability to install il without a mason. This alone has prompted a few builders to add it to their slate of offerings, in turn making many homeowners happy.

 

"A lot of designers find that when they want to achieve a stone look, manufactured stone is a great way to create that aesthetic, but nor completely blow out the budget, because it has a much lower installed cost than natural stone,"

 

 

 

Brookstone is !he newest stone style offered by Quality Stone Veneer it replicates stone found in mountain livers and streams that have tumbled downstream for centuries. With rounded edges, smooth boulder surfaces and random patterns, it is designed to flow with authenticity and be visually stunning will- a powerful presence.

 

 

 

While full-sized brick can be cumbersome in interior design. and requires load bearing foundations in exterior applications, a thin veneer solution to real brick is Old Brick Originals Thinbrick from Robinson Brick. It begins as Robinson's signature full-sized FBX - quality brick which is then cut thin for easy application inside and out.

 

 

 

GAF Materials announces its Canyon Rock of product line or Premium decorative stone. Standard features include 90-degree corners, minimal over pours, well-defined mortar grooves and a special coating that makes it easier to clean off excess mortar for a neater looking job.

 

 

 

ArcusStonecoat from ArcusStone is a unique blend of crushed limestone and other natural min­erals, special bondin_g agents, Portland cement and numerous proprietary ingredients. Yielding a strong, reliable and versatile decorative coat­ing that allows architects and designers to put limestone just about anywhere hey wont it.

 

 

 

Owens Corning Masonry Products is the first manufactured stone veneer maker to qualify as Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified. The certifications are for the entire line of Cultured Stone and ProStone veneer products- The masonry veneer prod­ucts have also been approved under the NAHB Research Center Green Approved Products seal of approval.

 

 

Coronado Stone's Italian Villa stone is a combination of richly textured fieldstones arid ledge stones inspired by the centuries ­old villas seen across the Italian countryside. With a range of colors, this stone has a handcrafted chiseled style doling back to the Renaissance period and can be used in over-grout or washed applications for an Old World appearance.