On Wed, 17 Feb 2016 06:52:49 -0600, SeaNymph
wrote:

On 2/16/2016 7:37 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Feb 2016 16:58:46 -0700, 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?

You have natural stone like this
http://www.nsvi.com/
You also have man made products like this
http://www.eldoradostone.com/

If you are somewhat far away you can use the Eldorado stuff but up
close you want the natural stone.
The cultured stone is very regular in height and you just stack them
up. The natural stone can be diamond cut or split. Diamond cut is very
regular too. The split stone looks better but there is a lot of hand
fitting. We made an entertainment center, electric fire place etc with
the split NVSI stone and I thought it came out well but doing the
puzzle takes a little time.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/cabinet/Our...s/image010.jpg
This is mostly done in this picture but I had not finished the wood
trim, the kicks and the far panel.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/cabinet%202015.jpg
All of the panels open and the whole thing is on wheels.
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/cabinet%202015%20open.jpg
You put down expanded metal stucco lath, mortar it and stick on the
stone like you would do tile. I like "flex" mortar because it really
sticks. Then use a wet tooth brush to remove any mortar that squeezes
out. That usually means you used too much mortar.

Most of those photos are what I think of as stacked stone. And the stone
seems to be in small sections because that's the way it is currently
coming loose. The wood stove insert downstairs has that stacked stone
and I hate it, mainly because it's drab and more because over the years
sections of it have come loose. Can't wait to take it off and replace
it with something else.

If you set it with flex mortar it isn't going to come loose.
The cultured stone is pretty drab looking but the natural stone is
vibrant and you can hit it with a sealer like stone glamor to really
bring up the color if you want. I like it natural. The real advantage
of natural stone is it is not going to fade in the sun and it is very
stain resistant. The same is not going to be true of the cultured
product. There are also lots of kinds of stone.