On 2/16/2016 5:58 PM, Don Y wrote:
In preparation for house paint (probably this Summer/Fall),
I'm trying to decide what to do with the porches. Exterior
of each is cheap, painted paneling. Rest of house is stucco
over block.

I could stucco both but that seems pretty boring.

Another option is tongue and groove planks -- possibly set
at a 45 to the floor (for a "swept" look). Natural stain.

Yet another option (my favorite) is a fitted stone facade.
But, the sort where there are no grout lines -- just very
tightly fitted stones (the stones having shapes similar
to *bricks* -- of various sizes). I.e., the wall feels
almost flat -- but rough.

They are not structural -- perhaps just a couple of inches thick
(front to back) and no stone/brick is more than an inch or two "tall".

A cursory look at these sorts of walls (usually on commercial
establishments, not residences) *suggests* that they are individual
stones and someone just was incredibly patient/lucky to manage
to ALWAYS find "just the right stone" for the odd shape that
needed to be filled.

I'm pretty sure I don't believe that! I suspect they are
prefabbed in some way (like the little 1" tiles you encounter
on bathroom floors -- sold in 12x12" SHEETS (so you don't have
to set each individual tile!). But, the arrangement of
"cracks"/edges is so busy that it's virtually impossible to
*see* an underlying pattern!

Can anyone confirm that they are, in fact, sold as "assemblies"?
That I don't have to budget weeks of time to preisely fitting
a gazillion little rectangular blocks?

And, as there appears to be no mortar (between "courses"),
how they are attached to the structure?

Are you talking about stacked stone? I'm not really clear what you're
referring to. Got a link or some picture?

I like the idea of the planks. That sounds really pretty.