History of Manufactured Stone

The first stone veneers showed up in the early 1960’s. They became popular because they are light weight (about ¼ of the weight of a full piece of stone) and ease of installation. This combination saved in total installation costs in the 60’s and today. You will see manufactured stone being used from large commercial buildings to residential construction.

Real stones with assorted sizes and textures are used for the molding process. A flexible rubber like compound is used to cast the mold for both the flat and corner pieces and additional accessories from drip sills, light boxes and hearth stones. The rubber mold captures all the texture and uniqueness of each stone. A typical model set of a 100 square feet will have anywhere from 100 to 150 different stones.

Manufactured stone veneers are made of Portland cement, an aggregate and a coloring agent. The type of aggregate and coloring process differs among manufactures and creates differences in stones from both a strength and color perspective.

Most stones from all manufactures’ average about 1½” thick, but will have a variation in thickness from 1” to 3”, depending on the stone style. The weight of the stone depends on the aggregate being used and varies from 4 pounds to 9 pounds per square foot.

The coloring process differs from different producers of stone. Some manufacturing companies spray stain the color of stone after it is molded. Others use a more labor intensive process and hand color each mold for richer, deeper and truer colors.

At North Star Stone, Inc. of Libertyville, we do things in a very customized manner and use what we consider better raw ingredients. Our aggregate is a light weight high temperature fired shale which makes the stone a little heavier, but also stronger for building tests and less likely to break during delivery. Our colors are from iron oxides and actually applied into the mold before the concrete is poured. During the curing process in our heat room the concrete dries and pulls the color into the stone. This provides a very natural looking stone.

There probably won’t be a lot of changes in the stone business from a manufacturing point of view. We are just trying to replicate nature and be as authentic as possible. At North Star Stone we like to think of ourselves as craftsmen in both making the stone and installing the stone. Please contact us about your stone project.