Construction Knowledge (Masonry) Series: What is Cultured Stone?

Whether you knew it or not, most of the stone veneer that you see on houses or businesses is not real stone.  Cultured stone is made of concrete and manufactured to look like real stone.  Cultured stone comes in all different colors, shapes, textures, and many come in panels.

 The natural question that comes to mind is “Why would you use fake stone instead of real stone?”  Compared to natural stone, manufactured stone is typically more cost effective and provides more flexibility in terms of sourcing.  Regardless of what type of cultured stone look you are going for; it’s going to come from a centralized plant.  If you are seeking natural stone, you will have to source it from a location that has the type of stone you desire.  There are costs associated with mining it, cutting/breaking it into appropriate sizes and then shipping costs are typically very high as stone is obviously heavy.

 Since cultured stone is made of concrete, it is porous.  It is important to make sure that it gets cleaned and sealed in order to protect the stone from water absorption and color fade.

 Stone is a very attractive architectural feature and cultured stone provides this look at a discount to natural stone.  The next time you see stone on a house or business, look to see if you can tell if it is cultured stone.