Depending on your taste and budget, you have several options when choosing among veneers:
Natural stone or brick veneer. Thin veneer is lighter-weight than full bricks or stones, so it’s easier for the do-it-yourselfer to manage during a remodeling project. Less weight also means less pressure on your structure. Plus, you can use the thin product for subtle finishing touches around doors and windows without adding bulk.
Manufacturers say veneer, because it’s less dense than full stone, will absorb less water so it’s less likely to react to our extreme heat or to show that ugly white efflorescence that plagues some masonry products when they get wet and dry out too quickly. And because it’s made with less material, it’s less expensive to make and to ship, so it costs you less.
Manufactured stone or brick veneer. Made from concrete cast in molds to give it the texture and appearance of the natural product, manufactured veneer is about one-quarter the thickness of natural stone and light enough to be installed without a foundation. The flat-backed concrete veneers mimic dozens of stones and come in hundreds of colors so you can mix them up to create unique designs for your projects.
Glued into place with mortar like regular brick or stone, low-maintenance manufactured veneer is lightweight, so it’s easier to handle and less labor-intensive to install than real stones. In fact, it can cost up to half less to install manufactured veneer as it does to install full bricks or stones.
Faux stone or brick veneer. Like the easy-to-maintain, tile-look vinyl you might have on your kitchen floor or your laminate floor boards that could pass for wood, faux brick and stone is less expensive and easier to care for than the real deal. The polyurethane panels are molded from rock, stone and brick, so they are textured to resemble natural materials. But they’re much lighter-weight, completely waterproof, resist fading and come in hundreds of colors and styles.
You won’t need mortar to seal these “bricks” together—just a drill, saw, square, files and some sanded caulk to fill in gaps.
###
