Hi all,
Any comments on above? We will be having stone of some sort on a large square bay window on the front of our house, can anyone shed some light on the pros, cons, costs of either option?
Thanks
S'girl
A Cladding is stone applied to a structural substrate. By implication it is non-structural, since it "clads" or "clothes" the building.
It can be stuck, mechanically fixed or hung - all in sheets 20-60mm thick, depending on the type of stone.
B Facing stone in traditional built work is usually a structural skin of coursed stonework, usually with binding stones at right angles going into the wall sometimes forming cross walls but often just giving "purchase" or hold. The external face(s) of the stone is(are) usually dressed in some way - picked, smooth or intentionally left "rough" sometimes with a 25mm "flat" rim all around the face.
These walls are usually two structural "skins" [one of which is the outer, high facing stone, the other being the inner which may be of rougher stone rendered over or brickwork] and the space between them filled with a rubble concretion to save money.
The individual stones can be anything from 125-250mm thick or more, particularly for corner-stones.
C Natural Stone outer leaf may be achieved using either; -
(i) an outer coursed skin laid in mortar beds and tied directly back to an outer leaf of a cavity wall in block, a structural facing if you will with any interstitial cavities between stone and outer leaf filled with mortar, or
(ii) a structural outer leaf in stone laid in mortar usually 150mm thick minimum going up to 225mm. The cavity may be up to 150mm with suitable s/s ties to allow for the irregularity of the rear face of the stone.
Type
A above, Cladding stone usually gives the game away rounding the corner at quoins or forming opes, much like timber veneer does.
Types
B and
C above, Stone facing or Natural Stone outer leaf, both give the "authentic" stone look but may cost significantly more.
All forms of stone finish need careful detailing of the heads and sills to preserve the "look" you are aiming for.
Similarly the returns of the opes and the placement of the windows need to be carefully considered.
Cut stone heads and sills are expensive, particularly if the head integrates with a beam and the sill has receiving haunches and a weathering groove underneath. And that's assumnig we're just talking about straight sills hear and not projecting bay windows with corners.
Finally, one word of warning about mitred joints.
My personal preference where sills project out and return across the window is for cut corner-pieces.
Bevelled or mitred joints [cut on the 45 degree angle] usually open up from frost action and thermal movement of the stone and the mortar erodes.
HTH
ONQ.