Stone veneer is a beautiful addition to any home, elevating your living space. Here’s a little-known challenge to most homeowners – the quiet struggle between stone and water.
The outside of a home is just as important as the inside, especially when it comes to longevity. Stone veneer isn’t excluded in this case: so many homes go to ruin due to bad installation or bad materials. Living in the PNW, many homeowners are at risk when it comes to water damage, considering the amount of rainfall annually.
Understanding Moisture Absorption
Masonry is not waterproof. As history and evolution shows, rocks erode over time due to water flow. When it comes to stone veneer, we make a pact between nature and man-made changes: proper installation.
Properly installed stone veneer is easy and low-maintenance for any homeowner. Building material is key here too!
Naturally, water will find a way in between masonry but the main key is to reroute it away and out of the house. Everything behind the masonry can get wet, as long as it dries out in a short period of time. That way, there will be no issues.
The key to drying everything quickly? Good airflow and heat.
That’s good news! An occupied house will create the heat. As long as the masonry is built with incorporated air flow and water exits, there won’t be any water issues.
The Freeze-Thaw Cycle
We know that with the PNW’s freezing winters and toasty summers, we can’t risk allowing the stone veneer to be damaged every single year.
The fact is, water will work its way into every nook and cranny possible.
Badly installed stone veneer leaves voids behind the stone. With those gaps, the water will get trapped and sit there for months without any issues.
But when winter comes and the below-freezing weather hits, the sitting water will freeze and expand. When the water expands, the force will pop stones off.
Now if you’re lucky, the only concern would be a disgraceful sight, and not much else. It becomes dangerous when someone is unlucky enough to be standing below the stone. And once the stone pops off, the area underneath is exposed for more water to intrude.
David’s Stone accounts for this with special prevention practice that is a standard for every home. We carefully inspect the areas underneath the stone before laying it to promote longevity with stone veneer!
Consequences of Moisture Absorption
Most homes in the PNW are created with wood materials. As we all know, wood homes are very susceptible to damage if the proper precautions aren’t taken to avoid moisture absorption.
Moisture absorption can attract various unwanted critters:
- Spiders
- Stinkbugs
- Ants
- Termites
These pests will eat through the wood of any home. They have a strong and pesky presence that can cause a lot of stress, to every member of your family.
Moisture absorption can cause more serious problems: health problems.
When water damage overtakes your home, the outside damage may seem minor. But this concern is a precursor to bigger problems, such as mold.
Mold causes an onslaught of issues that can affect physical health. All of these can come all at once, making the quality of life deteriorate suddenly.
When there’s problems with the home, the whole family becomes distressed.
With stones falling off, the house rotting and a dangerous structure, tensions rise. Selling the home may be on the table, but it’s difficult to do when it’s damaged. An ugly front yard creates problems with HOA, lowers value, and stresses the family.
Warding off these issues early in the timeline is crucial. When you have a professional like David’s Stone, these problems become an afterthought. They don’t appear on the horizon because David’s Stone is experienced in creating stone veneer without stress.
In fact, we can entirely prevent these issues with the following steps.
Prevention
The best practice to foresee and prevent these issues is simple! Beforehand, we design and install the stone veneer in a way that anticipates future concerns and handles them automatically.
During the construction stage, it is very easy to implement systems behind the stones and lay them in such a way that discourages water penetration. If any water does find a way in, we can reroute it to allow it to escape.
These simple solutions can be a great fit for your family and your home. At David’s Stone, we strongly believe that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Case Study: Jeremy from Camas, WA
Jeremy had a house built in 2004. It was situated on a hill in Camas, with a beautiful stone veneer finish. Earlier this year, he noticed that the rocks had been shifting, creating a large gap near the entry way.
Jeremy and his wife love their house and want to protect their investment. For this, they called David’s Stone to get the stone veneer inspected.
Upon inspection, David’s team discovered that a lot of the stone popped off during the freeze-thaw cycle that plagues many homes. Many of the stones were no longer adhered to the house. A game plan was created on how to address this issue.
Once the stone was opened up, David and his team discovered a large area that had trapped water sitting for years. The OSB (Oriented Strand Board) had rotted away.
This situation was brought to Jeremy’s attention. Together, they adjusted the game plan:
- Repairing the OSB
- Addressing the water drainage issue, to allow any future water to drain out
- Repairing the stone work
Once the plan was set, David and his team executed this plan, carefully implementing every step with their full attention. Then, they inspected every single stone on the house and repaired everything that needed treatment.
Jeremy now has a lot more peace of mind knowing exactly what is going on with and behind the stonework, and that his valuable house doesn’t have water damage anymore.
David’s Stone is here to help.
If you find yourself dealing with these issues today, don’t fret. Yes, the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago: but the next best time is today.
David’s Stone is are experienced stone masons, very familiar with these issues and how to address them even after you encounter these situations. From carefully removing the stone to expose the damaged area, to hunting down a matching product: David’s Stone creates a seamless transition in the stone once the root of the problem has been addressed.
Keep your home safe and family happy with the counsel, knowledge, and work of David’s Stone, experienced stone masons & stone veneer specialists!
Check out some more resources from David’s Stone:
- The Homeowner’s Guide to Manufactured Stone Veneer Care and Maintenance
When planning a stone veneer project, one of the most important decisions is choosing between manufactured stone and natural stone. Both options have distinct advantages and drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your priorities, budget, and project requirements. - Do You Need to Be Home for a Masonry Inspection? Here’s the TruthWhen planning a stone veneer project, one of the most important decisions is choosing between manufactured stone and natural stone. Both options have distinct advantages and drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your priorities, budget, and project requirements.
- Good vs. Bad Masonry Contractors: What You Need To KnowWhen planning a stone veneer project, one of the most important decisions is choosing between manufactured stone and natural stone. Both options have distinct advantages and drawbacks, and the right choice depends on your priorities, budget, and project requirements.
