# Cultured Stone



## rockbrain

What brand of Cultured Stone do you guys think looks best? and what would you estimate a ballpark installed price in the midwest? and finally..what about using the cultured stone on the side of the house..waist high..and real stone on the front? Do you think they would blend if installed properly?


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## Mike Finley

Eldorado has some great stuff. There is another manufacturer who pretty much has the market cornered, can't think of them right off the bat.

$20 square foot.


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## ContractorSon

rockbrain said:


> What brand of Cultured Stone do you guys think looks best? and what would you estimate a ballpark installed price in the midwest? and finally..what about using the cultured stone on the side of the house..waist high..and real stone on the front? Do you think they would blend if installed properly?


Natural Stone Veneers...

Lick and stick,just like the fake stuff!:thumbsup:


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## 6stringmason

A company I use alot of material from up here is Owens Corning Cultured Stone. They have alot of great looking material. Prices are generally $60-70 which covers about 12 sq. For labor I charge anywhere from $10 to $11.5 per sq for labor. 

As far as knee high and full front using the two differnet materials it will be tricky in my opinion. You realize to make it look right you would have to tie the corners in and the natural and cultured pretty much always have different thicknesses. So you would not be able to tie the corner in and have it look like its all real. You would have to put a straight joint on the corners and I personally dont think that would look right. You're better off going with one or the other.


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## Mike Finley

6stringmason said:


> A company I use alot of material from up here is Owens Corning Cultured Stone.


Yep, that's the one I couldn't think of. They pretty much own the market here.


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## ContractorSon

6stringmason said:


> A company I use alot of material from up here is Owens Corning Cultured Stone. They have alot of great looking material. Prices are generally $60-70 which covers about 12 sq. For labor I charge anywhere from $10 to $11.5 per sq for labor.
> 
> As far as knee high and full front using the two differnet materials it will be tricky in my opinion. You realize to make it look right you would have to tie the corners in and the natural and cultured pretty much always have different thicknesses. So you would not be able to tie the corner in and have it look like its all real. You would have to put a straight joint on the corners and I personally dont think that would look right. You're better off going with one or the other.


Cultured Stone is roughly about $5/sq ft material with a $5/sq ft installation. All corners are pre-fab,and not many random shapes to fit like natural veneer.


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## 6stringmason

I dont know who you get to do it for $5 a sq ft but they're way under paid. And my whole point is that trying to match cultured and natural stone on a corner wont work. Not sure what you were gettin at though? 

And my price list from the supplier shows $6.50 to $7 a sq foot or $72.50 for a box of 11.25 sq ft., and generally around $9.75 for corners. Which is about $78 a box which holds 8 linear feet.


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## jvcstone

6stringmason said:


> I dont know who you get to do it for $5 a sq ft but they're way under paid. QUOTE]
> 
> Sad but true, there are masonry crews here in central texas putting up real stone veneer (4 inch bed) for less than 2.00 / sq ft labor.  Far less than I was getting 10 to 12 years ago when I decided to stop contracting and concentrate on my carving.
> 
> JVC


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## 6stringmason

That is very sad. Is it because of the illegals or is the market just that flooded down there with masonry companies? Especially doing natural for $2 a sq. I dont touch it for less than $12. How does the work that these crews do cheap work for look?


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## jvcstone

yep, mostly "guest workers". As far as quality, some do better than others, but it all goes up real fast.

JVC


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## ContractorSon

Can buy Cultured for $5/sq,thin veneer a bit more,thick stone @ $10/sq.
Fake comes in a sealed box,not many different shapes (leave the hammer and chisel in the apron). 
Lick and stick...
How many square feet is a "normal day" per man? 10'x10' wall?
100sq ft?
What is that, $125/hr... 
Wow,forget Medical School for the kids!


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## 6stringmason

$125 then start subtracting pay for employees, ins, gas, maintenance on equip,maintenance for work truck, taxes, new equipment savings, retirement fund, etc.. etc...what does that leave ya with?


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## ContractorSon

6stringmason said:


> $125 then start subtracting pay for employees, ins, gas, maintenance on equip,maintenance for work truck, taxes, new equipment savings, retirement fund, etc.. etc...what does that leave ya with?



Probably $80-90/hr... 
Still more daily than the General Practitioner MD who spent 11 years in College/Med School/residency!


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## 6stringmason

And 100 sq in an 8 hour day per man is exaggerated. Me and another mason can do about 70 sq in a day. Once you factor in windows, puttin lathe on, scratch coatin, and laying. I would love to see someone do 100sq by themselves in a day. Quality over quanitity. Plus winter work. You have to buy tarps, fuel for heaters which is $1.71 a gallon, and to fix them once a week cuz tenders drop stone and brick on em and bust the cluctches. I doubt I make more than a doctor.


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## Mike Finley

Is that why all the masons are driving Mercedes?


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## 6stringmason

:cheesygri :cheesygri :cheesygri


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## rockbrain

*thin stone veneer*

You guys mentioned the thin stone veneer...maybe i could use the full veneer in the front and the thin on the side..is the thin cheeper for labor to install..and what would you guys charge?


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## 747

HEY where i live bricklayers make big money. ASk grumpy how much brick layers make in northern illinois i'm not 100 percent sure.. Thats why here all the new construction is done combo brick and vinyl siding. Unless you get into the big money new construction subdivision. Meaning don't even pull in unless you can afford 400,000 and up.


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## chardscapes

I want to get eldorado stone on the front of my house 250/sq. PM me if interested. I'm in Hampstead,MD


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## mightpeak

*Cera Stone*

There is a good cultured stone company that sells thick cultured stone for 5-7 a sq. ft. The company is Cera Stone. PM me and I'll send you the info.


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## jazzwillie

I think the biggest issue here with manufactured stone veneer (Cultured Stone is a brand name by the way Owens Corning if I'm not mistaken) is that everyone thinks they can do it. Drywall guys are doing it. EIFS guys are doing it. Most GCs have a guy on their crew they will pay an hourly rate to do it. There is a right and wrong way to do it depending on your climate. And to be honest the learning curve on most products is pretty short. Does anyone use the scratchcoat mixes and mortars made for it? We have had such a long stretch in getting that part of the job awarded to us that its been years since we've had to put any on.

How about dry stack in freeze thaw climates? I have yet to see one of these manufactured stone veneers with out a handful popped off.


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## dom-mas

I did a dry stack close to 10 years ago now...no pops yet. See and talk to the customer at least a few times a year. They do have 2' overhangs though


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## dom-mas

Oh and cultured stone was sold to Boral...an Aussie company...a few 3or 4 years ago. Still the same junk though


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## Nick520

Boral did buy Owens Corning out on the cultured stone. I've to this day never had stones fall off. Laid many thousand sq ft.

I would also never mix natural stone and cultured stone. Why would you. If you can afford to use natural stone or natural thin stone then definitely go that route. But doing the front of the house natural and sides out of cultured would be the tackiest ugliest thing you could do. I'd rather leave the sides with a scratch coat and save money for a while to match the front


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## dom-mas

Nick...the bulk of this thread is 8 years old or something. It just got resurfaced by one of the new guys


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## Nick520

Haha whoops been off the board a few days


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## Gordon Forsyth

Video of some of my work in southwest fl, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_85OoKCW0G0


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