How To Create A Rustic, Natural Edge on Stone Veneer

David Croteau shows how to achieve a rustic, natural edge look with ashlar stone veneer, demonstrating the technique with Stoneyard Shadow Mountain Rustic Ashlar natural stone veneer.

When Is Stone Veneer Rustic?

Stone veneer is labeled rustic when it has a certain type of edge. The term rustic is based on the word rustication: Exterior masonry cut in large blocks with deeply chamfered joints. Surfaces can be smooth or rough-textured, and joints and faces can have various treatments.

Rustication, in architecture, is a type of decorative masonry achieved by cutting back the edges of stones to a plane surface while leaving the central portion of the face either rough or projecting out more than the edges. Rustication provides a rich and bold surface for exterior masonry walls.

Shadow Mountain Rustic Ashlar

Shadow Mountain Rustic Ashlar is a small to medium sized ashlar style stone veneer with both square and rectangular pieces. It features colors ranging from light to dark grey. It is typically installed with a mortar joint.