Exterior Cladding Stone: Proper Installation
An artificial stone for exterior decoration is sometimes the only way out. This happens when you want to make the exterior of the building with stone and does not allow the foundation or not enough money.
Natural, weighs a lot more and its price bites. Therefore, the decoration of the house outside is done with artificial stone.
The most important thing is that this material can be applied without paying attention to the base; the exterior of a wooden house can be made of stone and made of blocks. This topic will be devoted to the article, we will figure out how such a finishing material is better and how to apply it correctly.
The content of the article
Why do we need outdoor decoration
Let’s first understand what is being done. exterior finish and why is it necessary. Let's see if artificial stone meets these requirements.
So:
- First of all, the coating should protect the room from the effects of the external environment. This should include temperature differences and high humidity.
This is especially true for wooden structures; - Finishing must meet fire safety requirements, made of fireproof material. Also, thermal insulation should be at its best, because this is a comfortable stay in the room and your money.
The coating should withstand ultraviolet rays and maintain their appearance when exposed; - Exterior decoration also solves the issue of sound insulation, and this is important. Prevent condensation and protect the load-bearing walls from this effect.
This will significantly increase the life of the building; - The price of the material will also affect the choice. It must be reasonable.
As can be seen from the above, decorative stone meets all these principles and successfully fulfills them. Now let's look at the installation process itself. finishing material.
Installation instructions will be described below.
Decorating the house with artificial stone
This is a crucial issue, which should be approached comprehensively and complete the decoration in stages. All work is carried out according to certain rules that arose in connection with the technology of work.
This is especially important if you do all the work yourself and do not resort to outside help.
Be sure to look at the photos and videos on this topic and determine the design of the room and only after that make a purchase of the material. It is likely that you will not choose finishes with one material, but make a combination of several.
Need a tool
For continuous operation, you will need to prepare the following tool in advance:
- Square and hydraulic level;
- Drill with nozzle for solution preparation;
- A grinder with a cutting wheel will be needed to fit the stone;
- Trowel and putty knife;
- Rubber mallet and timber to perform proper shrinkage of the stone;
- Metal brush.
Surface preparation
This is the initial stage. If the laying technology itself is practically no different from the type of building frame, then the preparation has its own nuances.
First of all, you need to determine whether the foundation will support the weight of the entire structure.
For this work, it is best to invite a specialist. After checking, it may be necessary to strengthen it.
Attention: For the correct execution of the work you must install the scaffold. Let it be not stationary, but temporary.You need to move freely on them and do the work. Remember, this cannot be done on the stairs.
Finishing a wooden house with stone outside requires its own approach and is done as follows:
- First of all, we remove all the facade details that may interfere with the work;
- Now we make a surface coating with an antifungal antiseptic, which is available on the market. To do this, use a brush or spray gun;
- Now we need to put waterproofing material on the plane. It should be purchased in advance.
This is an ordinary film that is printed on the wall.
Caution: Care must be taken when applying the film. This is done with shingles.
If you just use nails, then you should nail them through cardboard, then the hat will not damage the film and it will not sag.
- After that, a building reinforcing mesh is applied to the surface of the wall;
- We make a cement mortar and apply it to the surface. Do not worry about evenness, the main thing is to maintain a common plane, it should be even.
To do this, just pull the fishing line along the diagonal of the wall and see.
For a brick and concrete surface, everything is done in exactly the same way, but you just don’t need to apply nets and instead of a film, you should apply a primer layer, which will significantly improve the bonding of surfaces.
- Check the bumps in the wall. To do this, we stretch the grid diagonally and look.
If there are deviations in excess of two cm, then in these places it is worth applying a layer of solution and leveling the plane; - If there are metal surfaces, then they must be cleaned of rust and a primer coat is applied.
Now we need to correctly determine the line of the beginning of fastening. Often the base is finished with one material, and the top is already different.
We need to correctly determine the start of the installation:
- We put a mark where we will have the first row;
- Now it must be correctly transferred to other walls.
For this, the hydraulic level is used, with it you can perform the work most accurately and efficiently. We transfer the label; - Now we should combine all the risks. To do this, use a regular kapron thread and simply beat off the level.
Now we have a line to start laying.
Stone laying
Artificial stone for outdoor facade decoration it is quite possible to lay it yourself and without resorting to outside help. All work is performed in a specific sequence.
So:
- Lay out all the details from the packs and sort them by size. You will get three heaps, you need to start with the largest;
- Laying starts from the bottom corner and goes up. Never start the next row without completing the previous one;
Attention: You will not look the entire plane if the seam is uneven. To do this, you should prepare a template in the form of a regular flat rail and already do styling by its size
- Before laying, try on each element and make it fit. He must lie well;
- The thickness should not be particularly precisely selected elements. If there are deviations it will then look only more natural;
- The solution is applied to the part and this field is pressed and slightly rotational movements are made. The brick must sit down, and the formation of air balls in the masonry must not be allowed;
- Each row after laying should be checked with a level. The plane must be correctly positioned relative to the axis of the earth;
- After processing the entire surface, fill the seam. If you use color, then you need to add dye to the solution at the stage of preparation of the solution.
For this, the craftsmen take a plastic bag and simply cut the corner. After this, the solution is placed in the bag and squeezed out of it into the seam.
Caution: When laying and sealing joints, be careful of the mortar. Do not allow it to hit the front of the stone. If this happens, you must immediately remove it.
If you are filling with a normal solution, then you just need to let the surfaces dry a little and then do the cross-linking. Just do it carefully.
Now you know how to clad with decorative stone. The most important thing is not in a hurry and do everything right.
