Stone Veneer For the Fireplace

This week I will be working on the stone veneer for our fireplace. To begin this project my wife and I had to settle on the type of product we wanted to use. We wanted a product that had a stones with various colors (greys, reds, oranges, browns). Many of the products at Home Depot or Lowes had tan shades. We were interested in a product from Lowes, from the name brand Stone Craft. This type of stone is traditionally used the exterior as siding. It rages in width from one inch to two and one quarter inches. It must be installed, stone by stone. We found a pattern we liked but I decided to check a few tile stores to see what they had to offer. The second tile store had a stone veneer with all the colors above. The veneer is a stone product that ranges in widths from one and a quarter to half an inch. The stones are epoxied together to make a ledgerstone. It cuts like tile and installs like tile. See the pictures below.

To attach it to the wall I put up a board to represent the mantel. That will give it support has the mortar dries. The mortar is a polymer blend recommended by the manufacturer. I mixed it to a peanut butter consistency or until it wouldn't fall off my trowel easily.

The manufacturer suggests using a 1/2 inch notched trowel on the wonderboard. They also suggest back buttering each piece. I started by installing one entire row, the row that would be just above the mantel. The corners are created with a special type of the rock product. The corner stones have rough edges. I cut the corner tiles in half and over lap them on the corners.

Installation of the product was a lot like regular heavy tile. Professional would have started from the top and worked their way down. This is done to avoid dropping mastic on the finished part. I wasn't confident in how the bottom would turn out if I started at the top. As it happened, the top was uniform and straight. I left a gap at the top that will allow me a space to add drywall for the ceiling (ceiling should have been down first but we are still living in this room so..).