What Stone Is Right for My Fireplace?

Is there anything to compare to the comfort and grandeur of a stone fireplace? Stone has always been a popular material for fireplace design, and for good reason. Stone is incredibly versatile; you can literally create any style of fireplace, from the most grand to the most rustic and everything in between, with stone. But which stone is right for your fireplace? Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when designing your ideal fireplace.

Overall Design

Your overall design will steer you towards certain stones. The elegance and beauty of marble perfectly elevates a more formal room, while the rustic curvature of fieldstones can lend organic comfort to a cottage-style den. Determine what style you want for the room as a whole, and see if any stones immediately evoke that aesthetic for you. Marble may be expensive, but it's worth every penny if it perfects your room's look.

Maintenance Issues

Some stone is very easy to care for, requiring only a gentle cleaning every so often to maintain its luster and beauty. Other stone is more complicated to keep in pristine condition. Marbles and limestones are softer than other stones, so extra care needs to be taken to ensure these stones aren't dented by accident. In addition, marble can take more effort to clean than, say, granite. Which brings us to the elephant in the room: soot.

Soot and Staining

If you use your fireplace with any frequency, soot will be an issue. Using a dark material for your fireplace can certainly help to mask soot stains. Darker grey or black stone will keep your cleaning to a minimum, but what if your heart is set on something lighter? If you plan to use your fireplace often, aim for something easy to clean, like granite or slate.

Don't Forget Your Hearth

Make sure your hearth design complements your fireplace design. Depending on the material you choose for your fireplace, you may be able to use the same material to create your hearth. If not, or if you don't want your hearth made from the same material, try to use a product that complements your fireplace's style and coloring. Tile is an excellent option for hearths, as are other stone varieties with similar coloring to the main stone you pick. Be sure that the hearth design itself works well with the design of the fireplace; you don't want a cottage-style fireplace thrown off by a modern hearth or vice versa.

Ultimately, the beauty of well-designed and well-constructed stone will make your fireplace the show-stopping centerpiece of whatever room you incorporate it into. Discuss with your designer or salesperson which stones will be right for your fireplace.

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones   

Finding A Qualified Mason

Masonry work is an art and consists of constructing, adding, repairing concrete, stone, or brickwork. When we think of a Mason, so many times we think of patio, driveway, reinforced walls, additions to our homes, and then of course the surrounding areas of our pools. When searching for a legitimate mason to contract with, there are many considerations one should be aware of. After all, it's not only your money at stake, but also your family's safety and quite possible future legal battles, and then there is the overall well being of the state of your home and its landscaping. When someone begins to talk to me about doing some masonry work and I recommend someone without a doubt or invariably the first question out of their lips is "Are they cheapest? If this is the way you would like to pick a mason not really sure I can help.

The reason that question is not one to consider it could in reality mean they are out of work with no referral business. Stop and think about that for a moment. Stay with me here, if the masonry company is good, isn't safe to assume would they would probably be backed up with work from other referrals, which means it would take a bit of time to get on their list? Here is another hidden but quite juicy screening process, remember when you Google Masonry, Deck Patio or maybe Landscaping masonry, it would be very beneficial for you to take a closer look at their Google places page. In other words, find out where they are openly documented, as a mason. Do they have and reviews and if so how many reviews do they have? Next, would be to find out if their Google page is even VERIFIED! Verification within Google really only means they care enough about their business to actually take the time and claim their business from Google. This is really not a time consuming or difficult process but to be in business it's a very good thing to do.

When your searching Google places just look at the top right, it should say "owner verified." Here is another good question "How come some masonry companies have a video and some don't"? Many times you may find there's a few tasteless reviews, but don't worry. Look how many people bashed the American presidents since forever, and let's be real here if they are the president they are only like by a little over 50% of the people the other 50% didn't vote for them. So, just make sure when your looking at the reviews there are more positives ones as opposed to negative.

It would behoove you to make sure your contractor is proficient in using many if not all kinds of brick, stone pavers, reinforced walls, patio decks, roofing and siding, because you want masonry contractors who have been there, done that. I would personally shy away from guy with only a few journeymen helpers or none at all. To me...sometimes that is just another red flag.

Here is something very important when choosing masonry concrete pool pavers you had best have a written step by step of each process as to what is being used, and what is expected...in other words "YES" each thing you expect, at job completion. Don't be embarrassed. These people are not your friends, although not sure that's a good standard to follow because I've gotten shafted pretty well by friends. So think about it and no more of the masons down the street who are doing masonry at your neighbors, because you probably don't know your neighbor well enough to talk with them and find out they are not getting quite what they had planned on...bottom line get a thorough contract.

Call me crazy, but take it from me if I was going to pay money out for masonry or pavers concrete reinforce men, I'd make sure to call his CELL PHONE and see how easily I could speak with him or his office. Then, I'd ask to see a list of his last eight masonry concrete brick walls and deck patio work. But that's just me. I can't tell you how many times I repaired masonry work that the people who did the work are no longer around...so in the long run what does that really tell you....check them out FIRST.

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones   

Designing a Stone Fire Pit

Spending time with a person or a number of people is one way to communicate with them and let them know that you are happy with their presence in your life. That is why there are gatherings or get - together and stuff like that. But without knowing this fact, you know, as a human being, you know that when you want to spend time with people, you would prefer to do it outdoors. There is something about the great outdoors that makes things a bit more special, even if that outdoor meant your backyard.

This is pretty much true and guesses what; most people would prefer to go out in the evening. However, in some places, going out in the evening, even in your yard could prove to be a very frigid idea, literally. Especially on certain times of the year, a night out could be very cold. That is why you need the help of fire pits. It's a bit like camp fire but more sophisticated. These fire pits are great additions in your backyard because they provide you're much required heat to warm you on cold nights as well as provide you with a cozy fire and just the right amount of lighting to soothe or stimulate the mood. It's all about that.

The thing is, not everyone could buy or have a fire pit constructed in their house. It comes with a price that makes some people uncomfortable. However, you don't have to worry about that. If you are part of them (like me) you can always settle down for a DIY stone fire pit project. Designing a stone pit would be a very smart decision just in case you can't afford to buy or have one constructed in your house or maybe you are just the DIY type of person. So how do you design your own stone fire pit and build it?

First, you have to check for your local community officers if it's okay to have fire pits in your neighborhood because some neighborhoods don't allow that. Sometimes, they will ask you to get a permit for it but that's alright. First, get a stake (from some wood or something) and place it on the center of the spot which you have pre-located where you would place the pit. You will need a steel fire ring too. Dig a hole about one foot deep. When you are done with that, dig down the center until its half a foot deep. Set up stone blocks around the hole and then place some gravels on the center of the hole to act as drains if the rain comes. Use the steel ring to function as a line on your pit. You can get the steel ring at any home improvement or hardware stores nationwide. Add decorative stone blocks around it and you are all set. Now you have your very own stone fire pit. Handy!

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones   

Stone Veneer Provides Options To Make Dreams Come True

Stone veneer is giving people more options than ever before for creating the look and feel of natural stone without having to go through all the mess and expensive of installing the latter. With different manufacturers around the country producing manufactured stone, there is no doubt that every taste will be satisfied when this beautiful material is used to cover the outside of homes. Artificial stones are produced using lightweight concrete or other substance mixes that are poured into molds that are specially prepared to create the look and feel of real natural stone.

These fabricates stones are then painted with special coloring processes to give them the final touch and provide the appearance of stones that are found wherever they naturally occur. Stone veneer is produced to appear as thin slices of stone. That makes applying them to the outside of a home easy to accomplish, even by the DIY enthusiast. Rather than using masonry mortar as a mason would when building a brick or stone wall around the outside of a home, special mortars have been created to make this process simple and easy to achieve.

It is not uncommon to hear people stating that they would like to add a brick or natural stone facade to the plans they are making for a new home, but they often feel that it is just too expensive to seriously consider. With artificial stones, that cost is cut by one third to one half what it would be to install the other options, making it well within the reach of nearly anyone to give their homes the look they are after. Stone veneer is not just for the outside of the home either.

With fireplaces being one of the most sought after features for those searching for new homes to move into, manufactured stones are a great option for giving a new look to an older home or for adding value to new construction. Fabricated stones are finding their way into other applications as well, since they do not require the same techniques to apply as with brick and mortar, there is no reason anyone these days should have to go without the look and feel of stone.

Stone veneer is usually produced in much thinner layers than is possible with natural stone. That makes it ideal for placing on interior walls that mimic those that have traditionally only been found on the outside of structures. This gives rise to many design elements that could only have been dreamed of before. The cost of natural stone alone has prevented many from incorporating this design feature to their homes. That is no longer true with the incredible array of quality products that are being produced as artificial stone.

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones   

How to Select the Right Sandstone for Paving

Sandstone pavers are an eternal favourite for all kinds of locations. Not only are sandstone pavers natural, strong, weather-proof and beautiful to look at, they can be counted on to lend a classic look to any area of home or commercial establishment such as hotels and function centres. Sandstone pavers can also be used to create a homely, earthy look for cottage style gardens and to create attractive and welcoming residential driveways and pool surrounds.

Because of the nature of its formation, sandstone is a very hard stone that can be cut into pavers in a range of colors from red and gold tones, to streaked black, grey and white. In fact, sandstone can be purchased in so many different shades, how do you know what is going to be the right selection for your paving needs?

To help narrow down your dazzling array of options, here's a brief outline of the main colors and the types of construction where they are best put to use:

Dark brown: Deep brown or chocolate toned sandstone acquires its unique, rich appearance due to a high content of iron oxide. It is a great choice or exterior paving due to its ability to camouflage marks and staining and can be found in a variety of different surface finishes including sawn and polished.

Grey: Grey varieties typically range in tone from blue-grey to light grey, with some options of very dark grey available. The grey color arises from the silica calcite that has formed between the quartz grains, cementing them together. Due to its neutral tones, grey sandstone is exceedingly versatile.

Yellow: Yellow sandstone is an ideal choice for paving in seaside properties or beside saltwater pools. Its particular qualities of composition make it especially resistant to acid erosion and saline wind damage. Like all sandstone, it is highly porous and so suitable for very wet locations.

Beige: Light coloured beige and white varieties are one of the most widely used ranges due to their classic appearance and elegant light grey or purple 'veins' that become visible when the stone is wet. Beige sandstone extremely strong and durable making it a top choice for use in paving.

Red: Red and deep pink sandstone is particularly smooth and soft due to its uniform grain size and can be found in natural, sawn or polished surfaces. Although it is durable and very tolerant to weathering, its soft nature makes it more suitable for ornate, carved detailing rather than paving.

Rainbow: If none of the above hues sound suitable for your paving needs, rainbow may be the answer. Rainbow sandstone acquires its stunning colour from a singular combination of quartz and other natural minerals. Its range of tones can span violet, red, brown and teak depending on the percentage of each constituent mineral.

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones   

Tips on How to Transform Your Courtyard

Many properties now offer great sized courtyards rather than backyards. Courtyards can be wonderful for entertaining and great for keeping small pets too. But if you don't know how to work with the space properly, it can look messy and become an unused area. Here we've listed our top tips for transforming your courtyard. From mending your outdoor pavers to using paint to create the ultimate feature wall we've got a list of tips guaranteed to give your outdoor space a lift!

* Get inspired - The first step before doing anything is deciding on the look you want to create. Get inspired by looking through home and garden magazines. Go online and look up home improvement websites for tips and other forms of advice. Decide on what type of plants you want and what will look best flowing out from the decor you have inside.

* The walls - Depending on the size and look of your courtyard you may want to consider putting in a large feature wall. You can create this by painting it a neutral colour and having a water feature accentuate the area. You can also get creative with tiles and creeping plants which can look stunning growing on fresh and crisp high white walls.

* Furniture - You don't want to cramp the space you have, so choosing the right furniture is essential. You may only want a small bench against a wall, but if you want to use it for outdoor entertaining it is best to invest in a setting. Make sure that the furniture you buy has the correct protection to stop it from being damaged by the elements.

* The plants - Choosing the right plants can make a big difference to the look and feel of your courtyard. If you won't have time to tend to them much, you want to make sure that you invest in some sturdy plants that don't need much watering. Also think about the amount of sun you get in the courtyard. This will determine which plants thrive in your courtyard.

* Shading - If you do get a lot of sun in your courtyard you may want to install a sail or some form of shading that extends from the property. Of course if you are renting make sure that you consult with the property owner before proceeding. A fabric sale can look great extending out from the property over the outdoor area. If you want something a little more hardy you may want to think about having an awning put up.

* Fix any issues with the pavers - Whether you have sandstone pavers or something else, you may want to look at repairing any cracks or issues with it as part of your courtyard overhaul. Like with any indoor area, the look and feel of the flooring makes a big difference to the look of the area.

Your courtyard should be a comfortable place in your home where you can relax and unwind. There are so many ways to make it your favourite place in your property, you just need to know how to work with the space. I hope our tips on how to transform your courtyard has given you some ideas on how to turn your outdoor area into a little slice of paradise for you and your family.

5 Reasons Why Manufactured Stone Is Becoming So Popular   Installing Cultured Stones