7 Tips for Choosing Facing and Facing Stone

Contents

1. №1.Types of stone for the facade of the house
2. №2.Natural stone: pros, cons,
3. format number 3.Natural stone: types
4. №4.Artificial facing stone
5. №5.Types of artificial stone for the facade
6. № 6.Mounting options for cladding stone
7. №7.Types of masonry stone when finishing the facade

In terms of popularity among facade materials, stone is second only to plaster. The huge variety of facing stone allows you to embody any ideas with its help and fit into any budget. can be used to decorate the whole house, its basement part, to decorate window and door openings - more than enough options. When it is already decided how the facade will be equipped and the time comes to buy suitable material, the most crucial moment awaits us - to sort out the entire range and find the most suitable solution. What facing stone for the facade and the basement exists, what is the difference between its different types, and which laying is better?

№1.Types of stone for the facade of the house

All that stone that the market offers us today can be divided into two large groups:

• natural stone;
• artificial stone.

Natural stone is divided into rocks, artificial - according to the manufacturing technology and materials used for this.

№2.Natural stone: pros, cons,

format When the budget allows, natural stone is probably the best way to decorate the facade of a private house. Its main advantages include:

• stunning appearance with original and unique texture, beautiful tint and relief;
• environmental friendliness, because it is a material of natural origin, and if it can be processed, it is only mechanical;
• resistance to negative environmental factors( sunlight, precipitation, temperature extremes, as well as mold and insects), so natural stone is a reliable protection of the external walls of the house;
• high durability.

Among the deficiencies of the , of course, is the high price of the , so natural stone can be considered a kind of indicator of the status of the owner of the house. On the other hand, expensive material can be used to finish some elements of the facade: the stone is perfectly combined with plaster, and as a result, facade works will cost much less, and the house will look great. In addition, in this way, you can reduce the load on the foundation. If the facade will be fully lined with natural stone, this should be taken into account at the design stage of the house in order to make a more powerful foundation, because the weight of the stone is quite large.

Natural stone before sale, as a rule, is subjected to machined to one degree or another. It can be cut, sawed, sanded, polished or milled. Depending on the processing option, natural stone is:

• "rock" - a stone that fully preserves its natural structure;
• burial - stone, the surface of which is made with the imitation of point strong blows;
• ground - a stone with a more or less even texture and clear traces of machining;
• sawn stone retains its natural roughness and can be exposed to flame during processing;
• glossy stone has a matte and almost smooth surface;
• polished stone is processed to a mirror finish.

As for the size, natural stone is usually supplied with a thickness of 1.5-2.5 cm, while is formatted to produce such types of stone:

• wild stone - elements of irregular shape, but with neatly processed edges, it is more difficult to veneer from such a stone, but it looks gorgeous;
• stone slabs( sometimes called slabs) also have an irregular shape, but differ in large size. In fact, this is a large solid stone block;The
• Euro-2 tile has dimensions of 60 * 30 cm and a thickness of 2 cm, it is easiest to work with it, therefore such a stone is in the greatest demand;
• die - a stone with dimensions of 30 * 30 cm and a thickness of about 2 cm, is created from scraps of material.

№3.Natural stone:

types. For finishing of the facade, the following natural stone rocks are commonly used:

• granite is one of the most durable stones, it has decent hardness, frost resistance, minimal moisture absorption. It looks massively and strictly, it can have a polished or punctured surface, the color depends on impurities: it can be from a light gray to pink and almost red. The material minus is an increased natural radiation background, therefore it is better to purchase it in the checked places, so that all the indicators of the stone meet the safety standards;
• marble is easy to process, it can be polished to a smooth surface, which is used for the production of facade tiles. The color, like that of granite, depends on impurities, and by the light the stone looks especially beautiful. Medium hardness marble is used for cladding, it is rather strong and dense, but with time it can darken;
• Labradorite - durable and beautiful stone, ideal for finishing the facade, but very expensive, since its deposits are few. They can be clad only in separate parts of the facade;
• Limestone is a relatively inexpensive stone, easy to process, has much higher thermal insulation properties than granite and marble. Color - from white to gray and yellow. It is easy to work with the material, it has bactericidal properties, but in terms of hardness it is much inferior to other stones, and the high porosity favors increased moisture absorption;
• sandstone can be chipped or polished, it is inferior in strength to granite, but is ahead of limestone, has low porosity and is considered the most optimal in terms of price / quality ratio, therefore it is the most popular among all natural stones;
• slate is sold in the form of rectangular layers with a characteristic relief, or in the form of irregular polygonal tiles, the surface is punctured. For cladding the facade equally used shale and crystalline slate. The stone looks great, but during operation it tends to crumble - the layered structure affects.

Other types of stones are used for cladding facades, but those described above are the most popular.

№4.Artificial facing stone

If the facade of an already built house is being repaired and you want to decorate it with a stone, but the foundation will not withstand such a load, and it is impossible to carry out work to strengthen it, an artificial stone will be the best choice. It looks good, but most of them do not outwardly determine where the quality artificial stone is, and where it is natural.

The advantages of :

• more affordable price( compared to the natural counterpart);
• beautiful appearance, a variety of shapes and textures, because the technology allows you to copy any kind of stone;
• resistance to high humidity, sunlight, temperature extremes, mold and fungus;
• durability and ease of care;
• light weight.

Artificial stone is a fairly strong material, but it is inferior in strength to its natural counterpart. The material is made on the basis of natural materials, so it can be called completely safe, but when compared with a natural stone, its substitute loses in terms of environmental friendliness. Artificial stone can be considered a very worthy alternative to natural.

№5.Types of artificial stone for the facade

Industry has mastered a lot of ways to create a man-made stone. The main types of artificial stone include:

• clinker stone is made from special refractory clay grades at elevated temperatures. The result is a strong, durable and hard material that is not afraid of moisture and sunlight. By its properties it is close to some rocks of natural stone. Available in the form of clinker facing bricks, tiles with imitation of brickwork and sandstone of different types of processing;
• concrete stone is the easiest to manufacture, and therefore the cheapest. It is made of concrete of high grade strength by pouring it into the appropriate form and tamping. In a similar way, you can make a stone of any size, shape and topography, paint it in bulk and imitate even granite, even slate. The strength of such a stone is high and similar to cement plaster, the weight, however, is also high. is also distinguished by the architectural stone - the same concrete, but it consists of mineral fillers and special modifiers;
• polymeric sand stone is made on the basis of polymers and fillers, which usually use sand. This stone mimics a brick or has a crushed surface. The material is not very durable, but due to ductility, water resistance and resistance to high temperatures, it has high durability;
• stone based on synthetic resin with a filler in the form of stone chips in strength and beauty closest to the natural stone. Can imitate any rock and have any surface;
• ceramic facade stone is produced using technology close to ordinary ceramic tile, i.e.based on clay. The material simulates a stone with a smooth polished surface or with a small relief, it is resistant to moisture, but not the highest strength, and under the influence of temperature drops can begin to peel off, so it is not used very often.

№6.Installation options for cladding stone

The stone can be mounted in one of the following ways:

• on the adhesive backing directly to external walls;
• on a hinged facade.

The first option is used most often, but requires careful leveling of the surface and the use of a reinforcing mesh. The ventilated facade allows air to freely circulate and excess moisture is removed, since there is a hole between the outer wall and the finish. In this case, the stone is fastened to the metal guides with the help of clamps. Facing the facade with a stone is better to entrust to specialists - it is difficult to do all the work with your own hands.

№7.Types of masonry in the decoration of the facade

A lot depends on the appearance of the stone, but it is equally important how the individual elements are located relative to each other. The type of masonry is chosen depending on the architectural style and personal preferences:

• cladding for laying from die involves the use of irregularly shaped elements( if it is a natural stone, then with minimal processing).They are arranged chaotically and so that the gaps are minimal. Externally, the masonry will be overcrowded naturally and very effectively, but the installation process is complicated by the fact that it is necessary to have a sufficient aesthetic taste;
• cladding for “castl” requires the use of rectangular elements with different lengths and widths. It's easy to dock, but it is important to beautifully combine stones of different sizes, and this requires a certain qualification. The finished masonry resembles the one that was used in medieval castles, and therefore received such a name;
• cladding under the “plateau” laying is created from rectangular and square elements whose sides are multiples of 5 cm, and the “castl” differs only from the presence of square elements, which makes it more diverse. Arrangement requires qualification and certain experience;
• “Rondo” masonry involves the use of round and oval-shaped stones( pebbles, processed quartzite), used primarily for finishing individual elements of the facade;
• masonry "Shahriar" - the simplest in execution, consists of rectangular elements, resembles brickwork. Here it is important only to lay out the first row;
• masonry “Assol” is made from a plate, only the stones are put here not with the face, but with the end, which allows you to form a beautiful volumetric surface. The process of laying is complicated, mainly slate and sandstone are used.

What is natural, that artificial stone have sufficient performance qualities for cladding facades. A modern artificial stone in terms of durability, sturdiness and decorativeness has already come close to the natural one, which is good news - a beautiful facade is becoming more accessible.