Categories: Blog

Stone Masonry – Looking behind the Veneer

As we’ve covered before, stone masonry is an important and ancient trade skill. In fact, it’s responsible for creating such wonders as the Pyramids in Egypt, Iran’s Anahita Temple, Britain’s Stonehenge and the Easter Island Heads. Beyond this, a stonemason may even have invented the wheel! Of course, these are large scale achievements but let’s not forget the many everyday uses for stone masonry. Such as essential and ubiquitous things like stone walls, stone dwellings and buildings. Moreover, these things could be built using only stone. This is called ‘dry stacking’ and predates the use of cement.

So, today we’re going to be looking at a more modern stone masonry technique using stone as a veneer. It’s highly skillful, gives a beautiful effect and represents better value than solid stone.

Stone Masonry Veneer Styles and Techniques

There are several defined styles of fixing veneer depending on the stone used and the style that’s required. Firstly, a common pattern is called 2 to 1 or Ashlar Line. This means one large veneer next to two smaller pieces. As a result, the overall pattern appears quite random because of the variations in stone colour and size, but it’s a recognised style and looks visually appealing. Next, we have Mosaic. This is a more randomised pattern. Finally, the key to the success of the mosaic look is to ensure the mortar lines remain a consistent thickness.

Types of Veneer Mortar Joints

There are four main types of mortar joints used commonly today. These are raked, flush, over-grout, and dry-stacked.

Standard or Raked Mortar Joint
A very common type of joint. Essentially, once the mortar is ‘thumb-print’ dry, a stick or tuck point is raked over the joints to remove any excess mortar. The joint is finished with a wire brush to remove any excess on the veneers.
Flush Mortar Joint
As the name suggests, this mortar joint is flush with the face of the stone.
Over-grout Joint
Over-grout means bringing the mortar onto the face of the stone. This gives an old-fashioned look.
Dry-stacked Mortar joint
This type leaves very little mortar showing. In fact, only a small amount of mortar is used and care is taken to stack the stones tightly together.