[jho]

My wife Jen and I own a bungalow in Michigan, and the full upstairs is finished into a large master bedroom. We have a chimney that runs right up the middle. Lately, we have been talking about repainting in there, and Jen has been talking about putting stone veneer up around the chimney as an accent, then paint all the other walls. I think it's an awesome idea, except I'm finding that stone veneer is quite expensive. Both Home Depot and Lowes can do special orders of around $600-700. After a little research, I found a product called Airstone that Lowes carries at about $50 per 8-sq ft., and it's an instock item. Is this a good price/product to use? They also sell a tub of interior adhesive good for up to 30 sq. ft. made by the same company. Any other suggestions would be great. We're under the impression that 6-700 bucks is going to be about the cheapest for the stone, so we're prepared to throw down some money for this project. We just want to make sure whatever stone we put up is going to look good and be of good quality. Thanks for any input!

I'm including a picture. 3 sides are roughly 3 feet x 8 feet, and the back side is about 3 feet x 5 feet. So roughly 87 sq. ft.

 

[joecaption]

Bet that price did not inclide all the outside corners your going to need.

 

[jho]

Bet that price did not inclide all the outside corners your going to need.

Well, for that particular product, the flat pieces come in a box covering 8 sq. ft., and the corner pieces come in a box covering 6 ln. ft. Both boxes are $50 each. The price was just a rough estimate, and it also doesn't include any other products we need (adhesive, cement board, etc)

 

[jho]

I guess that's another question I have. Would I need to hang cement board for this? I've installed tile to subfloors using cement board, but have never done a wall. This chimney is drywall, not plaster, by the way

 

[joecaption]

I'm no expert in this area, but if you hang in there and wait another day there's people here that do far more of this type work then I do.
I'd spend some more time doing research on the companys web sites that make the faux stone and see what they suggest for an underlayment.
Here's another web site to check out.
http://www.calibex.com/serv/calibex2/buyer/OutPDir.jsp?kw=stone+veneer+prices&search=stone+veneer+prices&m=7561504806023240754

 

[stadry]

QUALITY w/most things you can buy @ apron/vest stores ? shirley you jest ! :laughing: far's looking well, that's your bride's call ( IF mama's happy, we're ALL happy ! ),,, personally i'd think the size of the stone's pattern might overpower the space but, if its a large room as you post, i could live w/it :yes:

personally i like the idea of mechanically anchoring durock 1st :thumbsup:

 

[jomama45]

Personally, I wouldn't hang cement board, but use galvanized diamond mesh instead, which should be available near the drywall accessories at HD. Takes a little longer to longer, but much easier for a DIY'er to have success with IMO.

Also, I'd look for a local masonry supply house to see their selection, prices and availability. To be honest, I've never been impressed with the quality/appearance of stone from the big box stores, nor the pricing. I can get far better looking material from any one of my suppliers and pay far less. Maybe I'm picky because I've laid enough real stone to know what it's supposed to look like, but I've yet to see a cultured stone product at a big box store that looked "decent"...

One more thing, be sure to round your material up, at least 10-15%, if not more, for a column of that size. You're inevitably going to have pieces you can't use in the boxes, as well as the need for more selection......

 

[jho]

Thanks guys for the replies. After more thought and research, we decided to go through a friend who's a mason's connection to get some stone. He's certain he can get better quality stuff at an affordable rate per sq. ft.

jomama45, I'll look into that mesh you speak of. I'm a painter, so I'm used to the prep taking a lot of time. :thumbsup: With that said, I'll spend the extra time to put up something that will make the process a lot less strenuous. And as for rounding up 10-15%, I agree. I learned the hard way installing tile on my basement floors, having to make an extra trip to the HD for another box of tiles, which could have been avoided had I thought to buy more than needed.

Now, one more question. I found through my research that a hack saw can be used to cut the stone. Is this true, or would I be better off with a certain kind of miter saw? Thanks!

 

[stadry]

since your ' stone ' is probably made from cement, wtr, & aggregate, i'd use some thing w/power that's diamond tipp'd,,, think most guys use diamond blades on 4" grinders :thumbsup:

 

[jomama45]

I've honestly never tried it, but if you're upstairs, and it's a long way to the outside of the house, it may be worth a try. We typically use 4" grinders with diamond blades as IRC mentioned. The blades are about $20, and will get you though this job no problem. Maybe your mason pal can just borrow you the few things you need? Best of luck with the project.............:thumbsup:

 

[Tscarborough]

A couple of things. First the Box store stone is pretty low quality. It may look OK outside from a distance, but for an interior application where the visual distance is in inches, it is easy for anyone to tell it is fake.

$6.25 per SqFt/ $8.33 per LnFt is not a great price, even for small quantities.

For small areas of interior use, select a veneer that is composed of small stones, large stones on small areas look odd and are harder to apply.

I am of the camp that advises 1/4" backer board over good drywall, screwed 8" O.C. into the studs, and application of stone with polymer modified thinset, working from the top down.

 

[jho]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Yeah, I think we're opting out on the Home Depot stone idea and going with what my wife's friend who's a mason uses instead.

What are the chances that the drywall is attached to wood fastened to the chimney? Could the drywall be fastened directly to the chimney instead, in which case I'd probably have to use cement screws to fasten the cement board or mesh down? Thanks again for all your help in guiding us on the right path :thumbup:

 

[stadry]

& i am of the camp that sits on t-scar's bench,,, follow his advice & you'll be fine as few are more knowledgeable :yes:

 

[jomama45]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Yeah, I think we're opting out on the Home Depot stone idea and going with what my wife's friend who's a mason uses instead.

What are the chances that the drywall is attached to wood fastened to the chimney? Could the drywall be fastened directly to the chimney instead, in which case I'd probably have to use cement screws to fasten the cement board or mesh down? Thanks again for all your help in guiding us on the right path :thumbup:

A couple taps with your hand should give some clues as to how it's fastened to the chimney. If there's no wood, I might be inclined to just tear the drywall off and adhere the stone directly to the brick chimney below..........