Facade decoration with facing stone: material characteristics and design techniques

Recommendation points

• Features and varieties of decorative stone for the facade
• Advantages of artificial facing stone
• Acceptable price
• Moisture proof, dust and dirt resistant
• Created on the basis of environmentally friendly materials, non-toxic
• Relatively light weight
• Simple installation process
• There is a huge selection of textures and shades.
• Has antibacterial properties
• Improves the energy efficiency of the building
• Frost resistance, resistance to temperature extremes
• The main design examples of using decorative stone on facades

In this article we will tell you about the possibilities of using decorative stone for facade decoration. We will study all the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice, the features of various types of facing stone, the approximate cost of material and work, as well as the stages of preparation and finishing.

I don’t want to say platitudes, but the facade is really the face of the house, its business card. And no matter how beautiful your interior is, the first impression will be made by the exterior finish.

In addition, the facade decoration is designed to increase energy efficiency, protect walls from moisture and temperature changes, that is, to extend the life of the entire building. From this point of view, artificial stone for facades has a number of undeniable advantages. Let’s take a look at the peculiarities of using this material during external finishing work..

A striking example of how decorative stone can change the appearance of a house. In this case, it was decided to combine a stone-faced plinth, columns and corners with snow-white plaster

Features and varieties of decorative stone for the facade

According to the materials used in the manufacturing process, artificial stone is divided into the following types:

1. Manufactured on the basis of natural stone chips using polyester resins.
2. Created from sand and concrete with the addition of colored fillers, which allows you to imitate natural stone.
3. Acrylic stone containing acrylic resins, mineral fillers, pigment additives and aluminum hydroxide.

According to external parameters, decorative stone is usually divided into the following main varieties:

1. Natural and chipped shape. Successfully imitates pebbles, cobblestones and other natural materials.
2. Sawed. Regular, square or rectangular. Easier to lay, but visually immediately differs from natural.
3. Facing brick. A stone of this shape perfectly imitates ordinary brickwork, as well as ceramic or aged bricks..

Of course, there are many more varieties of decorative stone, but it is not advisable to list all the options, for example, “Corsica”, “Champagne”, “Venice” and so on. Each manufacturer offers dozens of options that differ only in texture and shades..

Artificial stone can be of this shape, which successfully imitates real cobblestones. With the help of such large stones, only plinths, entrance doors or, as in this case, arched openings are usually distinguished

Advantages of artificial facing stone

Choosing between the existing facade cladding options, homeowners increasingly prefer artificial stone. There are several reasons for this popularity, but we will list the main advantages of this material.

Acceptable price

Artificial stone, especially one based on concrete, is much cheaper than natural. So, for a square meter of artificial stone you will have to pay from 1000 to 1400 rubles, while a square meter of marble can cost more than 2500 rubles, and granite – 2800 rubles. Facing brick is even cheaper than decorative stone, being considered the most inexpensive type of this material – from 900 rubles per “square”.

Moisture proof, dust and dirt resistant

Decorative stone, of course, is inferior to granite in strength, however, such facades will last long enough. Most often, manufacturers give a guarantee for 5-10 years, but in fact, a correctly laid artificial stone can last several times longer.

Created on the basis of environmentally friendly materials, non-toxic

All types of artificial stone are created on the basis of exclusively natural and non-toxic materials, be it concrete or acrylic resins. So such a stone, even if it is called artificial, is in no way inferior to natural in terms of ecological purity..

Relatively light weight

Artificial stone weighs 1.5 times less than natural, which facilitates the process of transportation, as well as subsequent installation.

Simple installation process

The process of installing decorative stone is simple, and the cost of work is lower than in the case of using natural. Indeed, in this case, it is not required to fix each stone with anchors and create special structures. In addition, concrete, cinder block and brick, which have properties similar to facing stone, practically do not require any preparation. Thanks to this, the work itself on finishing is cheaper than using granite or marble. So, laying one square meter of decorative stone on an already prepared surface costs from 800 rubles, using building mesh and plaster – from 1200 rubles, with insulation of the facade with foam blocks – from 1500 rubles. Finishing with natural stone of one “square” of the wall costs on average 200 rubles more.

There is a huge selection of textures and shades.

Decorative stone can be used to decorate the facade in both classic and ultramodern style. In addition, manufacturers offer special rounded and angled details that make it possible to highlight, for example, a window or a doorway..

Has antibacterial properties

Artificial stone is not afraid of fungus and mold, so you don’t have to additionally protect the walls from such unpleasant phenomena.

Improves the energy efficiency of the building

We all want to save on utility bills, and wall cladding with artificial stone can be one of the most effective ways. The house will retain heat better, so that some of the finishing costs will pay off over time.

Frost resistance, resistance to temperature extremes

Artificial stone is able to withstand temperatures from -50 to +60 degrees, which makes it possible to use it both for facing the fireplace and for finishing the facade.

Another good example of a combination of plaster and decorative stone on the facade. It turned out unobtrusive and attractive

Facing bricks are most often used precisely as the main material for facade decoration. At the same time, it can be adjacent to the decorative stone that adorned the basement of this house.

The main design examples of using decorative stone on facades

Of course, each homeowner is guided only by his own desires and financial capabilities, choosing a decorative stone for facade decoration. However, there are several design techniques that have already become traditional and are used especially widely:

1. So, for the basement, a darker decorative stone is traditionally chosen than for the walls. In addition, the plinth can be finished with an imitation of a whole natural stone, making it seem that the house literally grows out of boulders. Such stone is rarely used to decorate the entire surface of the walls – the building will look like a gloomy medieval castle.
2. We must not forget about the allocation of windows and doorways – for cornices and platbands, a decorative stone with a more pronounced texture and a different shade is chosen. Often only windows, doors and a basement are faced with artificial stone, focusing on these areas of the facade.
3. In addition, different types of stone can be chosen for finishing the attic floor, corner or protruding parts of the house. For example, the entire wall is faced with imitation of brick or slate, and the most noticeable areas – with an artificial analogue of rubble stone or quartz.
4. Decorative stone goes well with wooden beams and facade plaster, which allows you to create very unusual combinations.
5. If you want to decorate your house in a chalet style, be sure to cover the lower floor with a large stone that is as close to natural as possible, and use wood to finish the upper floor..
6. On the facades of houses in the half-timbered style, wooden beams are usually adjacent to the usual light plaster. However, nothing will prevent you from revealing the basement, door and window openings of such a house with decorative stone. Believe me, it will turn out very beautifully.

Thus, if you want to make your house original, for finishing the facade you may need three types of decorative stone at once – one for the basement, the second for openings and corners, and the third directly for the walls..

For the decoration of this house, a decorative stone of the same texture, but of a different color, was used – brown for the corners, and light gray for the walls

A half-timbered house will look even more attractive if you use artificial stone to decorate its basement and individual sections of the walls

House-chalet. Such buildings usually have a height of two floors, with the lower one always stone, and the upper one wooden. You can create such an effect using a facing stone.

Count how many types of decorative stone were used to decorate this facade! As many as four, and the window opening was decorated with stone platbands, clearly created to order according to individual sizes

A dark, rather rough stone for the basement, and much lighter and more delicate for the walls. One of the main design techniques

Due to the fact that facing brick is easy to install and is cheaper than decorative stone, it is a more popular option for facade decoration. In addition, there is a huge number of colors and textures for such a cladding, which allows you to experiment with the design.

Unlike decorative stone, facing bricks are more often used for finishing the entire facade. After such cladding, any house will look like an old mansion, respectable and solid

In this article, we have not touched upon such important issues as the technology of laying decorative stone and the preparation of walls. This is a rather broad topic that requires a separate discussion. We just tried to convince you of the advantages of artificial stone and offered some of the most common options for finishing the facade.