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Manufactured stone veneer is often as striking and beautiful as the natural stone it emulates. Also known as faux stone, manufactured stone veneer is a manmade material designed to replicate the look of natural stone in a variety of architectural applications ranging from exterior façades to unique statement walls.
This “faux stone” is much lighter, easier to install, and much more affordable. With the proper maintenance and upkeep, manufactured stone veneer siding can last anywhere from 20-75 years, and at least as long as the house it's built on.
Faux stone is created by mixing cement with aggregates to get the look of a certain type of stone. The mixture is put into a mold to get the desired shape. The result may not have been created by millions of years of pressure, but it looks a lot like real stone, and it even has many of the same elements.
While easy to cut and apply, faux stone panels are not durable against impact. Natural stone and manufactured stone are heavy, mineral-based products and are more durable.
The specific reason for stone veneer falling off houses is often because moisture infiltrates behind the stone pieces and then freezes. As the moisture freezes, it expands, which overpowers the mortar and causes the stone to pop off.
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.
Conservatively, we estimate that adding veneer provides better than 80% return on investment. That's why when we get asked, “Does stone veneer increase home value?”, we can safely say it does better than the majority of other upgrades.
Faux stone has many names: cultured, manufactured, fake, and artificial are a few that come to mind. It can often be confusing for the first time buyer of these products to determine if they are looking at a real or natural stone product or something that is manufactured.
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Poor installation can lead to significant problems, including water leaks, moisture accumulation between exterior and interior walls, mold, wood rot, and structural damage.
Do not use wire brushes, acids or vinegars to clean your manufactured stone veneer, and do not pressure wash or sandblast. Sealing is not required or recommended; if you choose to use a sealant, make sure it is a silane siloxane-based breathable masonry sealer.
Stone Veneer is Made of Strong, Waterproof and Virtually Weightless Polyurethane. GenStone faux stone veneer panels are made from 99.9% waterproof high-density polyurethane. More importantly, the material used to make GenStone is a closed-cell polyurethane.
Stone veneer can vary from $6 to $9 per square foot, compared to natural stone siding costing $15.00 to $30.00 per square foot. Obviously, the larger the area you're covering, the higher the cost will rise.
Natural stone is much heavier than veneer stone. To put this into perspective, a single natural veneer fieldstone weighs around 13 pounds per square foot, while manufactured veneer stone will weigh less than 5 pounds per square foot.
For exterior applications such as exterior siding or cladding, the major difference in durability is when the stone is subject to wind, rain, sleet, snow and wide temperature ranges. Faux stone is known to fade after many seasons of direct sun.
Faux Stone Veneer
It's generally cut at 1″ thickness, weighs a few pounds per panel and doesn't necessarily need an additional support structure to be affixed to a wall. However, many using stone veneer will utilize it with a framework to allow for draining and insulation to be installed.
Polyurethane & Plastic – Both polyurethane and plastic are common choices for simulating stone, and they are both fairly similar materials. The main advantage of both of these materials is the huge range of color options – there are hundreds of different hues to choose from!
Faux stone is a concrete product that is cast in molds. It then gets painted or dyed to copy colors of real natural stone. Advantages: As stated above, faux stone typically cost less than real stone, but may need sealing every 2-3 years which adds cost.
Therefore, stone veneer can be vulnerable to the same moisture problems as stucco. If the stone veneer is not sealed properly, water intrusion becomes an issue. Water and moisture can make their way behind the thin stone wall.
Manufactured stone siding is simply a concrete mix that imitates siding types like natural stone. Manufactured stone is less able to withstand the extremities of weather overtime compared to natural stone. However, it is significantly cheaper than real stone at $6 to $12 per square foot of installed material.
Cons: Stone walls are thick and heavy, reducing floor space. It also has a high self-weight, combined with low flexural strength, tensile strength and seismic resistance. Stone masonry is time-consuming and it requires skilled workers, since it cannot be altered, repaired or relocate easily.
3) Inflammable and Heat Resistant: faux stone veneer is a safe material option to install in and around your fireplace, so you won't have to worry about any wall damage happening unknown to you.
Usually, a facade or veneer stone wall will have studs behind it, which likely means simple lag bolts can be used for mounting through the wall to the studs. However, if the stone is real, a proper concrete anchor, sleeve anchor, or masonry anchor will be needed for the tv wall mount installation.
Unlike regular stone, you can apply stone veneer directly to most surfaces including drywall, concrete or brick. Faux stone veneer can be used indoors, and stone veneer siding is available for outdoor surfaces. There are different methods for installing faux stone panels.