Stone veneer installation in Bonita Springs FL - stone on a sound wall that stays dry

Most people who call us have a block wall, a stucco front, a set of columns or a fireplace face they want to dress up. The price turns on how many square feet you're covering, how many corners and openings the stone has to wrap, and most of all what shape the wall underneath is in, because a wall that needs work before stone adds to the job. The schedule turns on that same prep and on the weather, since fresh mortar can't be rushed. I come out, look at your wall and write you an estimate with your own figure on it.

I start by looking at the wall behind where the stone will go, and if it's cracked or coming apart, I tell you it needs work before any stone goes on it, because veneer only belongs on a sound wall. On rough concrete or block that's clean, with no paint, sealer or dirt in the way, the stone can bond straight to it. When the surface won't hold a mortar bond, we put up metal lath and a scratch coat, a rough first layer of mortar the stone grabs onto, which adds a step. Over wood sheathing, the industry installation standard requires two separate layers of water barrier behind the stone, and we give that barrier as much care as the stone in front, since water trapped behind stone is what ruins a wall. One installer's guide notes a drainage mat can take the place of one of those layers where it's allowed, and the wall usually stays drier for it. Then we set each stone in mortar, fill and finish the joints, and clean up.

Sometimes the wall you want in stone isn't built yet. If you're after a stone-faced garden or privacy wall, we put it up first as one of our concrete block walls and face it once the block is solid. When stone is going down to a foundation where the block needs replacing, we handle that as foundation block wall installation before the veneer, so the stone isn't covering a problem.

Heat is the local factor that changes this job most. One industry model specification calls for protecting fresh stonework from drying too fast when the air is over 100°F, or over 90°F with wind above 8 mph, before, during and for 72 hours after the work. Summer days here can get into that range, so we plan the work to keep fresh mortar out of the worst of the afternoon and we cover and shade what we've just set, because mortar that dries too fast doesn't hold the stone the way it should.

Most houses we see around Bonita Springs are block, often finished in stucco, so the wall check is usually about what's under the finish. We're based here and work the cities around it, north into Lee County and south into Collier County, and we look at walls the same way on jobs in Estero and Naples. If you have questions about local steps for your address, the city's community development department takes calls at (239) 444-6150 and routes them to the right staff.