Natural Thin-Veneer Stone: Thin and Real
“It gives us the irregularity of the rock, but it’s not dramatic; the rock varies from about 1” to 1 1/2”, he says. “And, it saved us from having to design a thicker wall and foundation.”
Detail work proved to be extremely important to the homeowners. Although Canyon Creek is available in several different ledge, tumbled and dry-stack configurations, the Warrens wanted the stone to maintain what Ken Warren calls “a horizontal theme.”
To do that, the couple worked closely with Tom Murphy, owner of Spokane-based masonry contractor Tom Murphy Masonry LLC.
“It’s a random dry-stack look, but we gave the owner samples of different ways we could install it,” Murphy says. “We used more than a dozen diamond blades on our saw to cut and fit the stone. We don’t do that for a lot of people, but it was required to achieve the horizontal look the client was after.”
Murphy explains that he got the job because of previous work he’d done with the contractor hired by the Warrens to build the home. Veneer installation was done over metal lathe and plaster using a regular type “S” mortar.
And, the stonework is extensive. The finished project utilized 8,000 ft² of stone flats and 1,400 lineal feet of corners. Murphy and his five-person crew spent parts of 2008 and 2009 on the jobsite.
Not all of the stone stayed on the home’s façade, either.
“We really like the color tones,” says Warren. “We made our grand entrance gate and several light posts up the drive, and the back desk barbecue cook center and raised fire pit out of the same rockwork, and then we carried it into the house on our fireplaces and the walls of our recreation room and wine cellar, along with the hot tub in the swimming pool area and a large raised circular planter that will incorporate a water feature in the circular drive.”
The couple is also incorporating the same color tones into this year’s project – landscaping their lot (including a second large water feature) – although that part of the job is utilizing a locally quarried stone.
Both men say they’re very pleased with the end result.
“Because of the way we pieced it together, it was a little more labor-intensive,” says Murphy. “I think you can see that a lot of time and effort went into making sure the quality was maintained and everything was balanced.”
“Our old home had a little bit of stone across the face, because that was what we could afford then,” says Warren. “This is an absolutely beautiful stone, and after talking to the mason, we liked that it has a systematic pattern but there’s variability within the pattern, and the mix of color tones. We really haven’t seen anything like what we built.
“Everyone who sees the new house compliments us on the beautiful rockwork. The masons were great to work with and did an absolutely exquisite job.”
This article appeared in the December 2010 print edition of Stone Business magazine. ©2010 Western Business Media Inc.
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