Stone veneer is a thin layer of any stone used as decorative facing material that is not meant to be load bearing. Stone cladding is a stone veneer, or simulated stone, applied to a building or other structure made of a material other than stone. Stone cladding is sometimes applied to concrete and steel buildings as part of their original architectural design.
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Thin stone veneer was first developed in the late 19th century, but there were materials developed much earlier that foreshadowed its use. For instance, the ancient Romans built large structures out of Roman concrete, and sometimes used a form of stone veneer to face them. [1] Parts of the Roman Coliseum were originally faced with marble veneer; the holes which once held the anchors for the veneer are still visible. [2] : 27
Modern stone veneer first made its appearance in the late 1800s. The oldest of modern stone veneer product is now disintegrating. It was cut into thick portions and then hand tooled into the appropriate panels; the stones that were used were "granite, marble, travertine, limestone, and slate." Early in its development, thin stone veneer only had the capabilities to be utilized in areas such as the inside of buildings, street-level facades and storefronts. [2] : 28
In the Late 19th and early 20th centuries non-load-bearing stone veneers were regularly affixed to load-bearing walls behind. As buildings began to grow taller with the advent of skeletal steel framing, it became necessary to diminish the thickness and weight of masonry walls in order to withstand the dead weight of the building. Without steel supports, load bearing walls could grow several meters thick on their lowest stories. A solution employed in the construction of early skyscrapers was the use of a steel structural frame that supported exterior stone walls at every floor, thereby distributing the load into the frame. This avoided a gradual buildup of weight that resulted in inconveniently thick lower walls. [3] The Empire State Building uses this method, having two steel beams for attaching stone veneer on each floor; one inside to bear weight, and one acting as a shelf outside to support the building's limestone veneer. [3] One and a half inches (38 mm) became the common thickness of stone veneer in the 1930s. The utilization of thin stone veneer for complete facades of buildings popped up in the 1940s. Stone veneer construction became much of what we see today in the 1950s. Transportation improved, so stone veneer was transported more efficiently and at lower costs than ever before. Methods to attach veneer to steel were developed; diamond-bladed tools became popular for developing thin stone veneer, while elastomeric sealant began to replace mortar techniques in the construction process. Thin stone veneer in the 1960s became more of a standardized look – in fact, standard education on stone veneer became available in The Marble Engineering Handbook and Marble-Faced Precast Panels, which were published by the Marble Institute of America and National Association of Marble Producers. [2] : 28
As stone veneer panels got thinner in the 1960s, the properties of the stone used became more important in order to compensate (as did safety considerations). Concrete as an aid to stone veneer continued to develop, as "in order to eliminate bowing, cracking, and staining of the veneer." [4]
"Diamond-studded cables" were used to cut Italian marble into the necessary slabs as a part of an era of specialization in the 1970s. [2] : 28 A 1976 patent shows that the stone material of composite stone veneer could be finished and developed in such a fashion that "it does not have the appearance of being a part of a composite stone veneered product." [5]
The stone veneer was able to be cut to a thickness of 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) in the 1980s because of improvements in technology. The thickness of typical thin stone veneer was three centimeters by the early 2000s. Anchors of support were provided by a specific type of stainless steel or "of aluminum with a non-corroding material separator between the metal and stone." These anchors are attached to the back of the panels with a rod. [2] : 28
There are a variety of systems for attaching stone veneers to facades including dowel, kerf, and undercut anchoring systems as well as direct fixing.
The direct or adhered fixing system relies on a mortar or cement bonding between the substrate wall and the backside of the stone veneer. This application is generally used indoors as exterior weathering and temperature extremes cause the veneer to crack and spall. The complete connection between the veneer and substrate does not account for differing rates of thermal expansion between materials, causing them to bind under pressure. [6]
Most exterior veneer systems hang stone from a support wall by pins and anchors allowing air space between, essentially using stone as a rain screen. Anchorage systems are superior for exterior use because they permit any water that permeates the veneer to escape, while air space allows the materials of the supporting substrate wall to expand and contract at different rates to those of the veneer. [6] The dowel anchorage system is one such method of hanging veneer. The system relies on holes drilled into the edges of stone panels in which metal dowels are inserted. The dowels are connected to an angle bracket that is in turn connected by anchor bolts to the building's load-bearing wall or steel frame. Kerf anchorage systems operate in much the same way with different metal hardware. The kerf system uses grooves cut into the edges of stone veneer panels in which kerf plates or cleats are inserted, those plates are mounted to the wall behind and act much like a shelf on which the stone panel rests. Both the dowel and Kerf anchorage systems can be attached to the top, bottom and sides of each panel ensuring a secure hold and binding the panels together to make a complete veneer. [6]
A fourth and somewhat less common anchoring system is the Undercut anchoring system which uses an expansion ring on the end of a bolt to lock into an undercut hole in the back of a veneer panel. Pressure from tightening the bolt causes the expansion ring to flare out, filling the undercut hole. The bolt is then affixed to anchorage system connected to the supporting wall behind. [6]
Stone veneer can be made from natural stone as well as manufactured stone. Natural stone veneer is made from real stone that is either collected, i.e. fieldstone, or quarried. The stone is cut to a consistent thickness and weight for use as a veneer.
Manufactured stone veneer is fabricated by pouring a lightweight concrete mix into rubber forms and painted with a coloring process which makes it resemble real stone. The stone veneer produced is then attached to walls with special mortars.
Flexible stone veneer is fabricated by pulling a thin layer of stone from a slab of slate, sandstone, or mica schist. It is backed by a composite material.
Stone cladding often consists of a lightweight simulated stone products with a concrete-type base. These stone cladding products are often fitted to lightweight substrates to reduce the material cost of construction; this would typically comprise
Then, using a mortar mix, the stone cladding would be affixed to the wall. In the US, a typical installation on a lightweight substrate would use plywood backing as an alternative to fibre cement sheet.
Alternatively, stone cladding can be a natural stone that has been quarried and then cut into thin pieces to reduce weight.
Being heavier, natural stone cladding often needs mechanical fixing to be adhered to substrates. Mechanical fixing could be using shelf angles, or perhaps a product called stone clip.
Several methods or systems are available for installing stone on the exterior of buildings. [6]
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound and pasted together by mortar. The term masonry can also refer to the building units themselves.
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar, to wall or cover formed structures.
Siding or wall cladding is the protective material attached to the exterior side of a wall of a house or other building. Along with the roof, it forms the first line of defense against the elements, most importantly sun, rain/snow, heat and cold, thus creating a stable, more comfortable environment on the interior side. The siding material and style also can enhance or detract from the building's beauty. There is a wide and expanding variety of materials to side with, both natural and artificial, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Masonry walls as such do not require siding, but any wall can be sided. Walls that are internally framed, whether with wood, or steel I-beams, however, must always be sided.
A curtain wall is an exterior covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, instead serving to protect the interior of the building from the elements. Because the curtain wall façade carries no structural load beyond its own dead load weight, it can be made of lightweight materials. The wall transfers lateral wind loads upon it to the main building structure through connections at floors or columns of the building.
A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the traditional masonry style with layers of staggered blocks.
This page is a list of construction topics.
Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The development of this technique made the construction of the skyscraper possible.
Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight, precast, cellular concrete building material, eco-friendly, suitable for producing concrete-like blocks. It is composed of quartz sand, calcined gypsum, lime, portland cement, water and aluminium powder. AAC products are cured under heat and pressure in an autoclave. Developed in the mid-1920s, AAC provides insulation, fire, and mold-resistance. Forms include blocks, wall panels, floor and roof panels, cladding (façade) panels and lintels. It is also an insulator.
Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast beams, and wall panels for tilt up construction. In contrast, cast-in-place concrete is poured into site-specific forms and cured on site.
Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) is a type of fibre-reinforced concrete. The product is also known as glassfibre reinforced concrete or GRC in British English. Glass fibre concretes are mainly used in exterior building façade panels and as architectural precast concrete. Somewhat similar materials are fibre cement siding and cement boards.
A cement board is a combination of cement and reinforcing fibers formed into sheets, of varying thickness that are typically used as a tile backing board. Cement board can be nailed or screwed to wood or steel studs to create a substrate for vertical tile and attached horizontally to plywood for tile floors, kitchen counters and backsplashes. It can be used on the exterior of buildings as a base for exterior plaster (stucco) systems and sometimes as the finish system itself.
Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry, typically made of brick, stone or manufactured stone. Masonry veneer can have an air space behind it and is technically called "anchored veneer". A masonry veneer attached directly to the backing is called "adhered veneer". The innermost element is structural, and may consist of masonry, concrete, timber or metal frame.
An anchor plate, floor plate or wall washer is a large plate or washer connected to a tie rod or bolt. Anchor plates are used on exterior walls of masonry buildings, for structural reinforcement against lateral bowing. Anchor plates are made of cast iron, sometimes wrought iron or steel, and are often made in a decorative style.
A sandwich panel is any structure made of three layers: a low-density core, and a thin skin-layer bonded to each side. Sandwich panels are used in applications where a combination of high structural rigidity and low weight is required.
A rainscreen is an exterior wall detail where the siding stands off from the moisture-resistant surface of an air/water barrier applied to the sheathing to create a capillary break and to allow drainage and evaporation. The rainscreen is the cladding or siding itself but the term rainscreen implies a system of building. Ideally the rainscreen prevents the wall air/water barrier from getting wet but because of cladding attachments and penetrations water is likely to reach this point, and hence materials are selected to be moisture tolerant and integrated with flashing. In some cases a rainscreen wall is called a pressure-equalized rainscreen wall where the ventilation openings are large enough for the air pressure to nearly equalize on both sides of the rain screen, but this name has been criticized as being redundant and is only useful to scientists and engineers.
Studcast concrete, also called "pre-framed concrete", combines relatively thin concrete layers with cold formed steel framing to create hybrid panels; the result is a panelized system usable for cladding, curtain walls, shaft walls, and load-bearing exterior and interior walls. Studcast panels install in the same manner as prefabricated steel stud panels. The technology is applicable for both factory prefabrication and site-cast (tilt-up) wall construction on almost all types of buildings, including multifamily housing, schools, industrial, commercial and institutional structures.
In masonry veneer building construction, a shelf angle or masonry support is a steel angle which supports the weight of brick or stone veneer and transfers that weight onto the main structure of the building so that a gap or space can be created beneath to allow building movements to occur.
Flexible stone veneer is a veneer with a layer of stone 1 to 5 mm thick. Flexible stone veneers should not be confused with traditional stone veneers. It is used for both interior and exterior and especially where bending to a curved surface is required. Flexible stone veneers are made from various types of slate, schist, or marble.
Copper has earned a respected place in the related fields of architecture, building construction, and interior design. From cathedrals to castles and from homes to offices, copper is used for a variety of architectural elements, including roofs, flashings, gutters, downspouts, domes, spires, vaults, wall cladding, and building expansion joints.
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