Do you want the elegance of a stone wall, column or fireplace, but don’t want the high price tag that goes with it?
Well, there’s a more affordable alternative: natural stone or lightweight manufactured veneers!
Stone veneers are pretty versatile; you can apply them to masonry block, poured concrete walls or plywood sheeting.
And the result is a natural, beautiful feature for your home.
Ready to transform your home with stone veneers?
Here What You’ll Need:
- Quikrete Veneer Stone Mortar, Quikrete Polymer Modified Veneer Stone Mortar or Quikrete Natural Stone Veneer Mortar
- Veneer stone or natural stone
- Grade D waterproof building paper
- Galvanized, self-furring, expanded metal lath (at least 2.5 pounds)
- Galvanized nails or staples
- Pneumatic staple gun
- Mason’s hammer or wide-mouth nipper (optional)
- Square trowel
- Chisel
- Bucket
- Steel bristle brush or metal rake
- Straight edge tool
- Whisk brush
- Grout bag
- Jointing tool
- Gloves
- Safety glasses
Before beginning this project, check local building codes and make sure you know about wall assembly and moisture barrier requirements.
Then, select the veneers that fit your style. Your local home center most likely has a lot of options available.
Next, calculate how many veneers you will need. It’s simple: just multiply the width of the project area by the height and subtract the square footage of anything that won’t be covered with veneers. This includes windows, doors and corner pieces.
Rule of thumb: go ahead and increase that estimate by 5 to 10 percent. This gives you some leeway for cutting and trimming.
Now you need to prep the project area. If you’re adding veneers to an exterior surface that will weather the elements, you’ll need two layers of grade D waterproof building paper over the rigid wall sheathing. You don’t need waterproof building paper and metal lath if you’re applying the veneers to an unpainted concrete or masonry surface.
Overlap the waterproof building paper’s vertical seams by 6 inches and overlap the horizontal seams by 4 inches in shingle fashion. Finally, you need to extend the building paper 16 inches around all corners.
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