Here is a great job by Back Bay of Virginia Beach. They used Senica Drystack by Heritage Stone. Teger Stone was the applicator. Notice how the edges are toothed in and the size of the edges have a balanced flow. I like how the arch was edged with 90 degree corners and flat stones. This gives the perception of a true stone arch. The color distribution of the stone is very balanced. This is a grand entrance. Great job Back Bay and Teger Stones.

Mock wall section for stone

This week-end was a cold and snowing. Not a good day to go out and play. Growing up in Roanoke, VA, I also associate the beach with hot temps. Now that I live 4 blocks from the beach, I've learned that it snows here as well. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to build a mock model of wall section with stone as the exterior. Starting from the top right corner of the picture I will work my way down and to the left. The top right section shows the wood structure of the home. This could be OSB board, plywood, any other type of wall sheeting. This is attached to the stub structure of the home, usually 2x4, 2x6 vertical boards placed at 16" on centers. The black layer (2nd layer) is a moisture barrier. I used a 15# felt paper. Some people use Tyvek as a moisture barrier. I may be old school, but I believe felt paper is a better moisture barrier. I have had stone manufactures recommend one layer of 15# felt, others recommend 30# felt paper. Another manufacture advises that 2 layers of 15# felt and stagger the joints is best. I do advise that one should check with the stone manufacture to make sure what they advise in order to maintain the stone warranty. The next layer is top secret. It is so new that the product is now being made available to the market as I type. The product is called "Mortairvent" The product is being supplied by Benjamin Obdyke. It is a mesh layer with a breathable outer sheet. The importance with this layer is to create a vapor barrier between the scratch coat and the moisture barrier. The product creates a 1/4" vapor barrier. This creates an air cavity for water/moisture to escape. If the scratch coat was directly onto the moisture barrier it would not be able to breath. Plus if water were able to penetrate the scratch coat it would exit through the vapor barrier by draining downward and out. The next layer is the wire mesh. I recommend that the mesh is galvanised. The mesh usually comes in 2 foot by 8 foot section. You would want to apply the mesh in a horizontal pattern. Usually over lap the edges by 2 to 3 inches. I have a couple of other do's and dont's when applying the mesh, and would be glad to share the information, I am trying to keep this topic on the surface without too much detail. Over top the mesh is the scratch coat. I recommend type S mortar. Mixture of 2 to 1 for the scratch coat and applying the stones. The thickness of the scratch coat should just cover the mesh wire. I have seen a job were the scratch coat was a 1/4" on top of the mesh. That is too thick. The scratch coat should have 24hours to dry before adding the stones, scratch on Monday and lay stones on Tuesday. Now we have reached the stone application step. At this point my friend is a whole new topic. But I hope this helps to be a little more savvy when talking stone with a vendor or sub.