I'm putting stone on the floor done , and it looks good and up the wall
behind and on the left of my wood burning stove . The floor is done , and in
a week or so I'll move on to the wall . My question is whether I need to
leave a small space between the stone and the sheetrock or to let the stone
touch the wall .
I had originally planned to leave "ducts" behind the stone for convective
circulation . I have decided that the return doesn't merit the extra work
since we'll have a big ceiling fan in the room to keep heat from stagnating
at the ceiling . The rocks are all free stuff from our land , and I've got
them graded by thickness from 4" down to around 2" . Thicker stones will be
used lower down . Since I have leftover materials from the shower project ,
I'm using a mix of 5 masonry mix sanded 1 portland , 3 sand , and 1 gray
thinset mortar . I mix it up dry as a premix and make small batches as I can
use them before it sets . This gives a very sticky mud when mixed on the dry
side that worked very well on the floor . I expect it will do the same on
the wall . Corrugated brick ties will be used at about 10-15 inch intervals
to make sure the wall remains a wall and not a pile of rocks and mud on the
floor my brother made that mistake when he laid up a fireplace surround of
volcano rocks many years ago ... .

--
Snag

On Tuesday, August 26, 2014 8:22:41 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm putting stone on the floor done , and it looks good and up the wall

behind and on the left of my wood burning stove . The floor is done , and in

a week or so I'll move on to the wall . My question is whether I need to

leave a small space between the stone and the sheetrock or to let the stone

touch the wall .

I had originally planned to leave "ducts" behind the stone for convective

circulation . I have decided that the return doesn't merit the extra work

since we'll have a big ceiling fan in the room to keep heat from stagnating

at the ceiling . The rocks are all free stuff from our land , and I've got

them graded by thickness from 4" down to around 2" . Thicker stones will be

used lower down . Since I have leftover materials from the shower project ,

I'm using a mix of 5 masonry mix sanded 1 portland , 3 sand , and 1 gray

thinset mortar . I mix it up dry as a premix and make small batches as I can

use them before it sets . This gives a very sticky mud when mixed on the dry

side that worked very well on the floor . I expect it will do the same on

the wall . Corrugated brick ties will be used at about 10-15 inch intervals

to make sure the wall remains a wall and not a pile of rocks and mud on the

floor my brother made that mistake when he laid up a fireplace surround of

volcano rocks many years ago ... .



--

Snag

When I had a decorative stone surround put around my fireplace, they attached wire lath to the drywall, then the mud and stone went on that. Mine was decorative though, so only about 1" thick. Using real stone, that's going to weigh a whole lot more and IDK what the weight implications are. But I don't see why you'd want a space between the stone and drywall in any case..

trader_4 wrote:
On Tuesday, August 26, 2014 8:22:41 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
I'm putting stone on the floor done , and it looks good and up the
wall

behind and on the left of my wood burning stove . The floor is done
, and in

a week or so I'll move on to the wall . My question is whether I
need to

leave a small space between the stone and the sheetrock or to let
the stone

touch the wall .

I had originally planned to leave "ducts" behind the stone for
convective

circulation . I have decided that the return doesn't merit the extra
work

since we'll have a big ceiling fan in the room to keep heat from
stagnating

at the ceiling . The rocks are all free stuff from our land , and
I've got

them graded by thickness from 4" down to around 2" . Thicker stones
will be

used lower down . Since I have leftover materials from the shower
project ,

I'm using a mix of 5 masonry mix sanded 1 portland , 3 sand , and
1 gray

thinset mortar . I mix it up dry as a premix and make small batches
as I can

use them before it sets . This gives a very sticky mud when mixed on
the dry

side that worked very well on the floor . I expect it will do the
same on

the wall . Corrugated brick ties will be used at about 10-15 inch
intervals

to make sure the wall remains a wall and not a pile of rocks and mud
on the

floor my brother made that mistake when he laid up a fireplace
surround of

volcano rocks many years ago ... .



--

Snag

When I had a decorative stone surround put around my fireplace, they
attached wire lath to the drywall, then the mud and stone went on
that. Mine was decorative though, so only about 1" thick. Using
real stone, that's going to weigh a whole lot more and IDK what the
weight implications are. But I don't see why you'd want a space
between the stone and drywall in any case.

This is going to be both decorative and a thermal storage mass . I asked
about the space because I've seen a dead space behind "brick veneer" in
general construction . I tend to think I don't want any space , but figgered
I'd check with the "experts" here too . This floor is looking better and
better , the rocks here in Stone County Ar have a fairly high iron content ,
and the reddish colors really pop in contrast to the gray of the mortar . I
need to get some muriatic to finish cleaning mortat haze , vinegar works but
not as well as I had hoped .
About the weight issue , this wall is directly over one of the main
support beams . I'll probably be adding extra crossblocking between the
joists to be sure I don't have any sag - though if this is a solid mass when
finished , I'm not so sure extra blocking is needed .
--
Snag

Hi Terry,

I'm putting stone on the floor done, and it looks good and up the
wall behind and on the left of my wood burning stove. The floor is
done, and in a week or so I'll move on to the wall. My question is
whether I need to leave a small space between the stone and the
sheetrock or to let the stone touch the wall. I had originally planned
to leave "ducts" behind the stone for convective circulation.

I think it depends on the clearance ratings of your woodstove. If you have
the rated distance between the woodstove and the stone wall, you can do it
however you want, it's just decorative. If the stone encroaches into the
rated clearance space, I believe code requires the gap behind the
stonework. I would assume this is due to conduction, heat traveling through
the stone to the combustible wall behind. The gap acts as a thermal break.

Personally, I always thought the gap would collect bugs, dust, spider webs,
and other debris that would combust easily. It seems counterintuitive to
me, but I guess the "experts" test these kinds of things for fire safety.

I wouldn't use sheetrock behind the stonework though. It would be better to
install something like durock or hardibacker that is made for tile work.
Mortar could soften the paper on the drywall and allow it all to separate
(cracks, crumbling, etc.).

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com

On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:52:50 -0700, Terry Coombs wrote:

...snip....
I'd check with the "experts" here too . This floor is looking better and
better , the rocks here in Stone County Ar have a fairly high iron
content ,
and the reddish colors really pop in contrast to the gray of the mortar
. I
need to get some muriatic to finish cleaning mortat haze , vinegar works
but
not as well as I had hoped .
About the weight issue , this wall is directly over one of the main
support beams . I'll probably be adding extra crossblocking between the
joists to be sure I don't have any sag - though if this is a solid mass
when
finished , I'm not so sure extra blocking is needed .

Only as a matter of protocol, and not because you need to, I'd use
fireplace high temp mortar. Why not? small amount.

We have high iron content here, too. Here's a 'heads up' be really, really
sure you want that gray mortar look before you do it. When I first did it,
I thought nice contrast, then slowly started to hate it. After using
sakrete color, brown, from home depot; the mortar became 'similar' in
color to the stones, which left the stones dominating, not the mortar when
I looked at it. Now when I look, I see the stones. Seriously, be really,
really sure you want that gray mortar dominating over the look of your
stones.

RobertMacy wrote:
On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:52:50 -0700, Terry Coombs
wrote:
...snip....
I'd check with the "experts" here too . This floor is looking better
and better , the rocks here in Stone County Ar have a fairly high
iron content ,
and the reddish colors really pop in contrast to the gray of the
mortar . I
need to get some muriatic to finish cleaning mortat haze , vinegar
works but
not as well as I had hoped .
About the weight issue , this wall is directly over one of the main
support beams . I'll probably be adding extra crossblocking between
the joists to be sure I don't have any sag - though if this is a
solid mass when
finished , I'm not so sure extra blocking is needed .

Only as a matter of protocol, and not because you need to, I'd use
fireplace high temp mortar. Why not? small amount.

We have high iron content here, too. Here's a 'heads up' be really,
really sure you want that gray mortar look before you do it. When I
first did it, I thought nice contrast, then slowly started to hate
it. After using sakrete color, brown, from home depot; the mortar
became 'similar' in color to the stones, which left the stones
dominating, not the mortar when I looked at it. Now when I look, I
see the stones. Seriously, be really, really sure you want that gray
mortar dominating over the look of your stones.

My wife and I really like the look of the floor , with the contrasting
colors . The wall will have smaller mortar joints , I won't be filling the
joints smooth/flush like the floor . This type of stonework is very common
here , probably due mostly to the easy availability of rocks - there's a
reason they called it "Stone County" ... our house will use the same type of
stone facade up to the bottom of the windows , then white oak split shakes
above to the eaves . I'll be using as much native material as possible ,
just like they did in the "Old Days" . Interior finish is planned to be
"rustic" , also incorporating native materials as much as possible .
I may have to build a bandsaw mill to get the lumber I want ... We've
got nearly 12 acres of trees , predominantly whit and red oaks . Can you say
"Solid Oak Cabinets" ? I knew you could ...
--
Snag

On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 10:06:32 -0700, Terry Coombs wrote:

...snip....
My wife and I really like the look of the floor , with the contrasting
colors . The wall will have smaller mortar joints , I won't be filling
the
joints smooth/flush like the floor . This type of stonework is very
common
here , probably due mostly to the easy availability of rocks - there's a
reason they called it "Stone County" ... our house will use the same
type of
stone facade up to the bottom of the windows , then white oak split
shakes
above to the eaves . I'll be using as much native material as possible ,
just like they did in the "Old Days" . Interior finish is planned to be
"rustic" , also incorporating native materials as much as possible .
I may have to build a bandsaw mill to get the lumber I want ... We've
got nearly 12 acres of trees , predominantly whit and red oaks . Can you
say
"Solid Oak Cabinets" ? I knew you could ...

Sounds like your project is going to be outstanding results.

12 acres of trees?! arrrg bragging, or complaining? covet, covet, covet.

RobertMacy wrote:
On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 10:06:32 -0700, Terry Coombs
wrote:
...snip....
My wife and I really like the look of the floor , with the
contrasting colors . The wall will have smaller mortar joints , I
won't be filling the
joints smooth/flush like the floor . This type of stonework is very
common
here , probably due mostly to the easy availability of rocks -
there's a reason they called it "Stone County" ... our house will
use the same type of
stone facade up to the bottom of the windows , then white oak split
shakes
above to the eaves . I'll be using as much native material as
possible , just like they did in the "Old Days" . Interior finish is
planned to be "rustic" , also incorporating native materials as much
as possible . I may have to build a bandsaw mill to get the
lumber I want ... We've got nearly 12 acres of trees , predominantly
white and red oaks . Can you say
"Solid Oak Cabinets" ? I knew you could ...

Sounds like your project is going to be outstanding results.

12 acres of trees?! arrrg bragging, or complaining? covet, covet,
covet.

Welllllll ... Neither , just sayin' . We bought this land in '01 I think it
was , with the intent of retiring here . What I didn't know then was that
retirin' is more work than workin' ! The big difference is that this is all
stuff I want to do , so it's not really work . Like this afternoon , I just
made a couple of lead weights to replace the lost ones for a triple beam
scale I was given . I now know that a gallon ziplock bag of frozen
blackberries weighs almost exactly 4.5 lbs . Just right to make a gallon of
medium-bodied wine grin . Guess where I picked the berries bigger grin ?
And it looks like we'll get a bumper crop of muscadines this year too ...

--
Snag

RobertMacy wrote:

12 acres of trees?! arrrg bragging, or complaining? covet, covet,
covet.

I've got 65 acres of trees, spring fed pond too. You interested in
buying?

On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 14:19:37 -0700, Terry Coombs wrote:

...snip....
Welllllll ... Neither , just sayin' . We bought this land in '01 I think
it
was , with the intent of retiring here . What I didn't know then was that
retirin' is more work than workin' ! The big difference is that this is
all
stuff I want to do , so it's not really work . Like this afternoon , I
just
made a couple of lead weights to replace the lost ones for a triple beam
scale I was given . I now know that a gallon ziplock bag of frozen
blackberries weighs almost exactly 4.5 lbs . Just right to make a gallon
of
medium-bodied wine grin . Guess where I picked the berries bigger
grin ?
And it looks like we'll get a bumper crop of muscadines this year too ...


Well, THAT just got a Pavlovian response! Hope you get a chance to post
pics

On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 18:43:14 -0700, Pete C. wrote:

RobertMacy wrote:

12 acres of trees?! arrrg bragging, or complaining? covet, covet,
covet.

I've got 65 acres of trees, spring fed pond too. You interested in
buying?

Know I can't afford, but where located?

RobertMacy wrote:
On Tue, 26 Aug 2014 14:19:37 -0700, Terry Coombs
wrote:
...snip....
Welllllll ... Neither , just sayin' . We bought this land in '01 I
think it
was , with the intent of retiring here . What I didn't know then was
that retirin' is more work than workin' ! The big difference is that
this is all
stuff I want to do , so it's not really work . Like this afternoon ,
I just
made a couple of lead weights to replace the lost ones for a triple
beam scale I was given . I now know that a gallon ziplock bag of
frozen blackberries weighs almost exactly 4.5 lbs . Just right to
make a gallon of
medium-bodied wine grin . Guess where I picked the berries bigger
grin ?
And it looks like we'll get a bumper crop of muscadines this year
too ...

Well, THAT just got a Pavlovian response! Hope you get a chance to
post pics

I just started a batch of muscadine wine , from berries my neighbor picked
last fall . He gave me a couple of 1 gallon freezer baggies last winter
because he needed more room for venison ... and I ended up with some of that
too because of lack of freezer space .
I sure love living out here , got some of the best neighbors I've ever had
..
--
Snag