[kevinheap]

I have a porch that is very prominent on our culdesac and it would look terrific to put exposed flat flagstone over the 3x5 ft concrete that is a bit of an eyesore.

I would like to be able to take my time and not have a project ongoing in front of the house for a long time.

I was thinking if a guy could find the right backing, maybe hardi cement board, that he could prefab a 3x5 ft panel of stone as thin as could be found and have it all grouted into place then just hoist and anchor the entire unit in one shot.

Does this make sense and is it possible.

Thanks Kevin, window cleaner by trade and new to group 57 yrs old in Colorado.

 

[joecaption]

There's a lot of whole lot easyer ways to do this.
Google faux stone, and faux stone panels.
There light weight and not all that hard to install.
I've seen some of the faux stone in Lowes and Home Depot.
Also most real siding supplys will at least have some samples to look at.

 

[user1007]

Is this siding or a surface over a concrete slab porch floor?

Either way, I don't see what you gain with your approach.

 

[kevinheap]

A rock veneer over concrete. The advantage is that I can take my time and make the 3x5 panel in the garage.

 

[joecaption]

Are you talking about the top surface that you walk on or the sides you would see from the street?
Either one trying to premake panels just makes no since to me.
Reasons being, to heavy to move, there going to crack if moved around to much, how do you plan on handling the seams where the panels meet?

 

[user1007]

I still do not ge it either. You said the area to be covered was 3x5 or 15 square feet? Using 2x2 stones that is just 7 or 8 pieces. Twice as many 12x12 or so. Again, what do you gain? Certainly you can set 7-8 pieces in a day on the porch.

And Joe, is right just dragging and moving it into place without breaking something is going to be a challenge. And it will be very heavy and hard to maneuver.

If you are worried about layout or something using random shaped tiles. You can alway do that in the garage and just mark the stones for placement?

Just so you have some weights in mind: 15 square feet of flagstone pavers or veneer 1/2" thick will weigh around 100.5 pounds, 1 inch 200 and 2 inches 405. 15 square feet of walling stone will come out around 660 pounds.

 

[joecaption]

And if by eye sore you mean it's failing, then stop and figure out why it's failing.
Trying to lay anything over a cracking, sinking stoop is also going to fail.

 

[gobug]

What is wrong with the 3x5? Just ambiance? How thick is it?


My suggestion is to buy the flagstone and lay it out on the 3x5 cement slab.
Wash the down side of each piece of flagstone.
"Paint" the down side of the flagstones with an acrylic latex concrete additive.
Paint the 3x5 slab with the same.
Mix a "mortar".
Spread it onto the bottom side of a piece of flagstone.
Put a dollup of mortar where the flagstone will stay.
Place the flagstone. Tap it with a rubber mallet.
Repeat and use a level to keep the top of the flagstone even with the other flagstones.

Making a panel would add several complications. It could be done, but not without adding a lot of weight. The time to do as I listed would be less. I would estimate the time to do as I suggested, not counting finding buying and transporting the flagstone, would not take a whole day.

 

[kevinheap]

Thanks for the feedback. The stoop is in good shape so that is no problem. Perhaps it was not the best idea but I do appreciate your honest feedback and the great ideas you have given me.

Since the stoop is in such a prominent location I might just go with some of the best flagstone available at about $900 per ton.

I will be reviewing the advice in this post to help as I go.

 

[gobug]

$900/ton sounds expensive but that relates to your location. You certainly do not need anywhere near a ton. My guess is the flagstone will cost you about $75 for the area you want to cover.

If you have a pickup, or access to one, you can hand pick your flagstone to fit the surface area you need. Cutting the flagstone to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle will still be needed to some degree, but you have more control in what pieces you buy and how many have to be cut. Plus you can mark the pieces with a pencil to speed assembly when you get it all home.

The step face (the side you see as you approach the stoop) can be cheaper if you can select flagstone from the discard pile. The discard pile is the pieces which are too small for most flagstone projects. I was fortunate in finding this kind of deal when I did a small flagstone patio.