Trying to decide between natural stone, natural stone veneer, or faux stone veneer

This recent customer chat answers many of the questions we receive daily about the differences in stone veneer, how it is applied to walls, installation tips, and costs.

What is missing from this conversation, regarding the customer’s comment to “purchase 5 tons of real stone” to cut costs, is that each full stone must be cut to 1″ thickness, requiring a wet saw, a high skill level, and many hours of time. All of our stone veneer is 100% natural stone, arrives pre-cut to 1″ thick, with each stone passing a quality check before it is shipped in crates in organized layers to your job site.

Stoneyard	How can we help you with your product selection?
Customer	hi, I’m looking at the boston blend mosaic thin stone veneer
	is it real stone?
Rachel	Hi, It is 100% natural stone!
	We quarry it in New england and cut at our yard 🙂
Customer	what needs to be done for installation?
Rachel	Is it an interior project or exterior?
Customer	exterior siding. I would need around 2,500 sq. feet
Rachel	It would be applied onto 1/2″ cement board. For exterior application, we recommend some sort of air & water barrier between the stone and the cement board
	after that, you can apply the mortar and stone!
	Laticrete is one brand of mortar we recommend that has air & water barrier, mortar, and grout. We also suggest ordering between 15-20% extra material to account for any waste/trimming at time of install.
	Because this stone is only about 15lbs/SF, it can be applied directly to the substrate!
Customer	how do i determine pricing?
	trying to decide between natural stone, natural stone veneer, or faux stone veneer
Rachel	natural stone is the same natural stone veneer. veneer in our context basically just means that it is cut to a specific thickness. In this case, 1″ thick
	I can email over a formal quote with delivery quoted… or just some base pricing if you’d like
Customer	so the pieces aren’t put together to make a tile for easier application. there would still need to be cement added in between all stones?
Rachel	most of our stones are individual pieces. The only panels we offer are linked here https://stoneyard.com/product-category/veneer/thin-stone-veneer-all/?wpv-product-shape%5B%5D=stone-panels&wpv_view_count=23766
	grouting the stones is optional. That’s more of a preference thing. Some prefer a joint with grout and some people prefer no grout/ a tighter jointed install
Customer	so this sounds like a more expensive option than going to get about 5 tons of real stone.
Rachel	this is all real stone. We don’t carry any faux stone
	loose stone tends to have a lesser price point than panels though. And in comparison I’ve seen faux stone cost the same and sometimes more than real stone!
Customer	absolutely, but labor is much cheaper
Rachel	That’s kind of a situational thing. What we see a lot is that labor may cost less when installing panels but you may pay more for the stone. Or labor will cost more but you pay less for the stone.
Customer	thank you. i appreciate the time.
Rachel	sort of a give & take. Comparing options and installs will be beneficial
	no problem! Reach out of we can help with anything else! My direct line you can call/text is 978-800-4657

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