Building our retirement home

[s219]

We used real stone veneer but same basic installation method. In between switching masons I decided to give it a try. After only about 20 square feet I quickly decided to leave it to the pros. I would still be working on it.

The part I would have a hard time with, mentally, is mixing up the stone shapes and colors (if it's that type) to get it looking right. I'd be worried about having a bunch of gray rectangles grouped together, for instance. However our masons did it, all their stone work came out looking great. I think there were 4 shades of stone and about 10 different shapes to juggle, not counting 3-4 different corner styles in the 4 shades. They got it together in a random but unified pattern.

I will say this, sticking the stone veneer on looks pretty easy but I imagine you need the right touch with the mortar mix. We had a few stones get knocked off during construction when the electricians were drilling/cutting to mount fixtures, and those I stuck back on with construction adhesive (worked fantastic). Makes me think you could do the whole thing that way if it was a "dry stack" style without any mortar or grout between stones. If I ever do driveway columns to match our home, I figured I'd build the column with concrete block, then glue on the veneer with construction adhesive.

 

[Country Geek]

I will say this, sticking the stone veneer on looks pretty easy but I imagine you need the right touch with the mortar mix. We had a few stones get knocked off during construction when the electricians were drilling/cutting to mount fixtures,

I have Cultured Stone, dry stack look, covering the veneer of the prow on the front of my house, that goes up about 25 feet at the peek. Every once in a while I find one of the stones on the ground in front of the house. I figur they fell off but I can never find any missing on the wall and I've looked! After scratching my head for a few days I figured maybe they were just scraps the masons left behind.

 

[cat fever]

I have Cultured Stone, dry stack look, covering the veneer of the prow on the front of my house, that goes up about 25 feet at the peek. Every once in a while I find one of the stones on the ground in front of the house. I figur they fell off but I can never find any missing on the wall and I've looked! After scratching my head for a few days I figured maybe they were just scraps the masons left behind.

Or your wife or kids messing with your head.:laughing: Now that would be funny.

Never mind the picture if one shows up. Just testing my home computer to see if I can upload one.

 

[Country Geek]

Or your wife or kids messing with your head.:laughing: Now that would be funny.

Hah, that would be funny!

 

[Beltman60]

I love watching these projects

The best of luck

Beltman

 

[s219]

I have Cultured Stone, dry stack look, covering the veneer of the prow on the front of my house, that goes up about 25 feet at the peek. Every once in a while I find one of the stones on the ground in front of the house. I figur they fell off but I can never find any missing on the wall and I've looked! After scratching my head for a few days I figured maybe they were just scraps the masons left behind.

That happened a couple times on our stone porch columns, and darned if I didn't need to stare at the thing for a long time before I eventually saw the empty "socket". I mean minutes of looking and using my fingers to find the spot. The mortar color happens to blend in with one of the many shades of stone in the veneer. Which is good I suppose. Next time I might just ignore it if I am busy.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Well, it seems we've been on pause for a few days. The basement forms have been in place but we were waiting on our security door to arrive. It was delivered today - then the rain came pouring :shocked:

Although the basement was dry enough to proceed, the surrounding ground was soggy and created concern the concrete trucks would sink. We'll have a piece of heavy equipment on hand tomorrow to pull them out ... just in case.

In the meantime, we are drawing and redrawing window layouts, looking at doors and appliances, and even bought an antique dining set - which I get to drive 500 miles to pick up - lol.

 

[jk96]

I remember those rainy day delays and don't miss them. Any floor plans or elevations you can post? I'm interested to see what you have planned. Just remember if you do post them your likely to get lots of helpful suggestions.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I remember those rainy day delays and don't miss them. Any floor plans or elevations you can post? I'm interested to see what you have planned. Just remember if you do post them your likely to get lots of helpful suggestions.

All I have are the 1/4" scale prints - nothing digital. We did not part on really good terms with the design team.

The short version: The designers were an "Energy Efficient" bunch ... total solar and such. When we got the projected price tag, it was enough to stop your heart - lol. We decided to settle for traditional construction and cut the price tag by 40%. This resulted in a MASSIVE itemized list of services on our final bill. I guess they were going to get what they could out of us. We walked away with the floor plans and elevations - that we have since modified several times along the way. The last modification was about 1/2 cup of coffee spilled on it - LOL.

 

[JRobyn]

If you have a good general contractor and framing crews, you'll be fine with what you have. Ours found and on-the-fly corrected several mistakes that our mail-order architect made. But stay vigilant!

- Jay