Brick vs Stacked Stone

[bmac]

I've got a couple of questions that I didn't want to get lost in my home construction thread. So I thought I'd just start a new topic for this.

My builder told me the other day that we need to start looking at brick colors for our house pretty soon. Our house was designed to have a farm house look and will have Hardiplank siding on the main structure. However, the exposed portion of the daylight basement is scheduled to be veneered in brick. From the front of the house, there will be about 2 feet of exposed brick. The property slopes from front to back such that on the back of the house, the entire 10 ft height will be exposed.

The builder suggested that we begin by looking at other homes to see what we like. My wife and I are at odds on the colors of brick we have seen. One thing we both like, however, is the homes that have stacked stone.

So, with that bit of background, here are a couple of questions. Does anyone know an approximate cost difference between brick and stacked stone (maybe expressed in terms of a percentage)? I'm thinking real stone will be a budget breaker, so what about the synthetic stone? Has anyone used the synthethic products as an exterior veneer? Do they look close enough to the real thing to be attractive? How do they hold up over time? Cost of synthetic vs brick? Finally, I've attached an image of the rear elevation of the house plan. The shaded area is the area to be veneered. I would like opinions on the esthetics of brick vs a stacked stone for such a large area as we will have on the back of the house. My wife is concerned that it may not look good in this application.

Thanks for any and all replies. If anyone has photos of their property where stacked stone (real or synthetic) has been used in a similar application, we would love to see it .

 

[Junkman]

I have two friends that have used the synthetic stone... one used it on his home almost 20 years ago and it still looks great. You cannot tell the difference between it and the real thing unless you tap on it. My other friend is installing it on his new home presently. His only negative comment was that the mastic that he is using to install it, if it comes in contact with the stone is hard to remove. He referred to the mastic as cement, but I don't know if it is a true cement or a mastic. He did say that it is a tedious job to get it to look natural when you are working on scaffolding and are up close. His wife stays on the ground shouting orders up to him.... Just like most wives do...... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a littel experience with both.

The last house I built, I paid .27 cents per brick in bulk. Not sure about a brick vineer, but I'd assume it's cheaper then buying whole bricks. The stacked rock is going be $7 to $10 a sq ft. If you go for a flat rock, or fieldstone type of rock that covers more surface area, your price per foot drops considerably.

Both attach with Type N mortor, so that's not much of a difference, either way.

Shop around. Prices vary with different brands and availablity. The stone I'm currently using is very popular, and dificult to come get, which means my price went from $7 a sq ft to $9, and I still have to search all over to find it.

You can also mix the brick with stone. Either do brick columns with rock fill, or do a brick columns and bottom portion with a rock fill. You get the rock look without as much expense.

It's also fairly easy to install yourself. You might save the difference in price by putting your own sweat into it. If that's an option.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

<font color="blue"> Not sure about a brick vineer,... </font>

Eddie, sorry I wasn't clear on this. I'm talking about using real, full-sized brick. For the stone, I am referring to flat field stone. 1-2 inches thick, broken into pieces 4-5 inches deep and varying in length, and stacked such that 2-3 pieces would yield the height of 1 brick. I'm not sure if my description makes sense.

I wish I had to time to do it myself as I does look like it would be a fun project.

 

[bmac]

Junkman,

Thanks. That is encouraging. I'm sure the material cost has to be less than real stone and the labor is probably a fraction of installing real stone. I'll look into this.

 

[Junkman]

I now understand the type of stone that you are thinking of. Yes, that type of stone facing will be labor intensive and the cost of the stone also will be quite expensive since you will need a lot of it. What I was referring to was to use the "cultured stone" on its flat side being attached to the side of the house giving it a look of large stones making up the wall. Had I though of it, I could have snapped a picture of my friends home this afternoon while I was there. These cultured stones are about 8" x 10" approximately and have irregular edges and corners to make them look like flat field stone. They also have different textures to them and colors, so you do get a random pattern. This is the least expensive way to get the stone look at a price that you can afford to live with. Brick facing is brick that are thinner in depth and are glued and stacked to look like the real bricks, but you just don't have as much material. That would be my second choice based on expense. If money is no object, then go for the flat stacked fieldstone. It also comes down to a personal choice of what you like and how well it will fit into the design of the home.
Here is a website that shows stone web page

 

[EddieWalker]

Each method has a different aproach. If your putting up brick, then you had to have poured a footing to support it. The brick is then laid with a space between it and the wall.

Again, bricks vary on cost, but should be under $2 a sq ft.

The rock is attached to the wall. Is your wall built for this, or do you need to add lathe? Might be a consideration.

Sonds like you are in a win-win situation. Either way you go, it will look nice.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

<font color="blue"> If your putting up brick, then you had to have poured a footing to support it. </font>

The attached photo shows the brick ledge that was built into the forms when the walls were poured.

If we used stone, I assume the lathe would have to be added.

 

[bmac]

Junkman,
I was afraid I didn't communicate this well. Here's a pic of kind of what I was thinking about. BTW, this is a cultured stone product but I'm not sure if it is for exterior applications.

 

[bmac]

Here's another cultured stone product that I think looks nice.