natural vs. synthetic stone for home exterior?

15 years ago

I am getting prices in for my home budget and am at the masonry stage. I am looking to use stacked stone on the watertable and rotunda (total of about 1400sf) and brick the rest (about 4500sf). I found a house with a stack stone rotunda that I very much like in the area and sent it to the brick supplier. They said it looked like natural stone and they only carry synthetic. My question is do I definately want to go with natural if I want a great product? Are there places where I should use synthetic like some interior walls due to its lite weight?

Thanks for any help.

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Comments (6)

jaymielo
15 years ago
You are definitely going to hear arguments for natural stone, which is very beautiful. However, we used Cultured Stone and are very happy with the results. I'm actually not sure of the price difference is between natural and cultured. The only thing I would "warn" you about with a synthetic stone is to only use it in "appropriate" places. For instance, don't "float" it on a second story. Apply it as you would the real deal. Here are a couple of pics of the front of our house (in progress)...
bdpeck-charlotte
15 years ago
Both are quality products, but the real quality comes from the installation. If you like the stone on the house you saw, try and find out who did the work.

I will say that most cultured stone looks fake up close, so make sure to see samples in person.
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ccoombs1
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I love the look of cultured stone from a distance, but I don't like it close up. Go look at some samples really close up and you'll see what I mean....it just looks fake to me. Just my opinion though.
oruboris
15 years ago
I very much agree with bdpeck: the quality of the installation matters more than type of stone.

The cultured coming out today is lightyears ahead of what was available a few years ago. While I can still spot cultured stone [or think I can-- it's possible that I've been fooled on occasion] to me the look is so close that there's no real difference.

But then again, odds are you'll find little cost difference-- cultured is actully more $/ft for material than natural, but less for labor.
shellmo
15 years ago
We have a small quantity of stone (280 SF) and we opted for a thin natural stone (TNS) by Buechel rather than the Cultured Stone. Reason why was how it looks up close, as we are using identical stone on our FP and the exterior. Cost-wise, this natural stone (Chilton Weatheredge)was nearly $16/SF per 100 SF pack vs. the Cultured Stone was just over $8/SF. The limestone sills for the natural stone were cheaper than the Cultured, but it was still basically 2x the price. Installation is the same regardless for us, as per our installer, there is no difference between working with the two. And the weight of the TNS is comparable to the Cultured Stone.

Hope that helps! (and jaymielo, that is a beautiful home!)
liptonjl
15 years ago
I agree regarding the quality of installation. We used cultured stone and our installer was just amazing. I think it came out fantastic. Pics below under siding or stone.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Pics

natural vs. synthetic stone for home exterior?

Comments (6)

jaymielo

bdpeck-charlotte

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