4 Types of Stone Veneer to Consider for Your Custom Home
October 18, 2022When you work with a builder to design and build a custom home, you get to choose what it looks like; inside and out. Depending on the styles you like, stone veneer may be a good choice to help you get the look you want. As a versatile option with plenty of stone veneer styles available, it’s a popular choice. Here are what to know and some types of stone veneer to consider:
What is Stone Veneer?
A stone veneer is a thin layer of stone or faux stone that is applied to a structure as a decorative facing material. Stone veneer is often manufactured stone or faux stone because it mimics the appearance of natural stone.
Although it is less common, a stone veneer can be made of natural stone. In the context of custom home design, stone veneer is often used to enhance exterior surfaces, but there is interior stone veneer that is meant to enhance surfaces inside the home as well.
4 Types of Stone Veneer
There are many things to consider when you are thinking about stone veneer, including natural vs manufactured stone veneer. Here are a few types of stone veneer to consider for your custom home:
1. Faux Stone Veneer
Faux stone veneer, or manufactured stone, is one of the most popular types of stone veneer. It is man-made and is designed to look like natural stone.
Typically, faux stone veneer is a combination of natural minerals, cement, and pigment. Depending on the manufacturer, there are some types of faux stone that use synthetic polymers. These types still look like natural stone, but are also ultralight.
Faux stone or manufactured is durable, beautiful, and can be made to look like any natural stone. These are some of the reasons it is a popular option for both exterior and interior applications. In fact, manufactured stone veneer is even one of the popular bathroom wall options!
2. Natural Thin Stone Veneer
Natural thin stone veneer is made from real stone. The stone may come from riverbeds, from mountains, or from quarries. No matter where it comes from, it is usually cut to one-inch depths when it is used for a stone veneer. This is why it is also called sawn veneer.
Although this type of stone veneer is real stone and will be a heavier veneer, it is still not meant to be load-bearing and is only meant to be a decorative enhancement. They can be kept in raw stone shapes or they can be shaped for a more polished style.
3. Full Bed Veneer
A full bed veneer is also made from natural stone; it is just cut thicker than the natural thin stone veneer. Instead of one-inch depths, stones used for a full bed veneer are cut to be three to five-inch depths. In some applications, they range from six to eight-inch depths.
4. Mortarless Stone Veneer
Mortarless stone veneer is manufactured stone that is designed specifically to fit tightly and not require any mortar. Because they are dry-stacked tightly, the joints are minimized between them, and grout is not necessary. Although there may be some limitations because it is mortarless, this type of stone veneer can be manufactured to work for several styles.
3 Types of Stone Veneer Styles
In addition to types of stone veneer in the context of the materials they are made of, there are also different stone veneer styles to choose from. There are several styles available and combinations of styles and shapes as well. Here are a few common stone veneer styles to inspire you:
1. Round Stone Veneer
Round stone veneer can be both a stone veneer style and a type depending on how it is made. It can be made from natural stone or it can be manufactured stone that is designed to have a rounded shape. It can also refer to other styles where the stones used or made have smoother, rounded edges.
Natural Rounded Stone Veneer
When made from natural stone, it’s often made of fieldstone and is cut from the already round fieldstones. They are meant to look like the natural fieldstone walls common to New England. They also protrude outward slightly because they come from a rounded stone. In this application, the natural face of the stone is preserved.
2. Mosaic
The mosaic stone veneer style can be made of manufactured or natural stone. Although the stones tend to have varying shapes and sizes to create the mosaic look, they are designed to fit close together with tighter joints than other styles. Whether faux or natural stone, visible mortar/grout lines should be minimal.
3. Ledgestone
Ledgestone is designed or cut to be longer, thinner rectangular stones that can be stacked or have the appearance of being stacked like traditional stacking flat stones. Although there may be some variation because of the stone look, the stones should appear to be stacked in rows and should have no mortar showing.
These are just a few types of stone veneer and stone veneer styles to choose from as you think about your own custom home. There are a lot of details to consider and it can be overwhelming to try and handle alone.
Instead, partnering with a custom home builder with an in-house design/build process can help you narrow down the options that work best for you and give you peace of mind throughout the process.
If you’re ready to bring your dream custom home to life, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!