On Wed, 17 Feb 2016 06:44:33 -0500, "dadiOH"
wrote:

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?

What I've seen around here (central Florida) isn't stone, it is concrete
molded and colored to look like stone. No reason it couldn't be fabricated
in large units but it doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like it because
one can find "stones" that are identical in shape and form but different in
coloration. I would guess that the mode of attachment is mortar, thinset or
otherwise.




I think Eldorodo does make panels but that is the cultured stone, not
real stone. It may look OK from across the street but up close you
know it isn't real. If you are not doing a wide expanse, I imagine you
also get some waste and you are cutting the panels. A diamond blade in
a circular saw or a side grinder goes right through it. I got 8 boxes
of Eldorodo stacking stone left over from a job and we used them for
garden edging. (set in a poured concrete border).
I have a lot of stone work here.