Why, because the end use consumer is getting a better deal. The final cost of installing natural stone on personal residence or commercial building is the cost of both the stone and the labor combined. That cost equation has pushed the market from installing full bed depth natural stone in years gone by, to the majority of the market being the installation of natural stone thin veneer.


The big picture is this: the cost of labor has come down for installing “thin veneer” stone products as the knowledge and familiarity has risen on how to do it. Labor, in most markets around the United States, is a greater portion of the overall cost of installation than the actual stone product. Full bed stone products normally cost less than most real stone thin veneer products, and they are normally sold by the ton or pound. On average, most full bed products will yield 30-45 square feet per ton of coverage. You’ll have to make a cost conversion for what you paid per ton to how much it is costing you per square foot [i.e. If you paid $350 per ton for the stone, and it yields 40 sq. ft. per ton, your cost for the stone only, is $8.75 per sq. ft.]. Real Stone thin veneer is normally sold by the square foot for “flats,” and by the linear foot for “corners.” In most cases the cost per sq. ft. or linear foot may be a bit higher than the converted cost of full bed product. This is logical as the cost of the thin veneer is the cost of the full bed stone plus the labor to convert it into thin veneer. However, for the consumer, the savings is in the installation labor. We have surveyed many markets around the USA as we cover a wide area of distribution. It would be a fair statement for me to say that the cost of labor to install real stone thin veneer is, at a minimum, (only 1/2) as expensive as the cost to install full bed real stone. In many markets that differential may be as much as 80%; in other words, the cost of installing natural stone thin veneer may be equal to paying only 20% of the cost of installing full bed natural stone in that market. The more expensive the labor in your market, the more true this is.


You’ll have to do your own due diligence about finding the right mason for your job and estimating how much labor will cost you. However, no matter how much homework you do, I can almost guarantee the final cost of your project will always be less costly installing real stone thin veneer than real stone full bed material.


Many communities with higher standards of building requirements may require natural stone versus “fake” or man-made stone products. Natural Stone thin veneer will meet almost any discriminating body, and will save the owner of the project money. With a high quality natural stone thin veneer, and a decent mason installer, no-one will ever be able to tell the difference between a full bed versus thin veneer job.


Natural stone thin veneer is is the real deal. It is just fabricated REAL STONE, either in a “processing plant,” or occasionally “on the job.” Unlike fake (aka “cultured,” or “manufactured”) stone, which is made of concrete, plaster and paint products – real stone “thin veneer” is a sawn off portion of the real version of the full stone (100% made by nature). It has all the properties of the full bed stone; including its hardness, color and natural beauty. It will not fade or deteriorate like the man made imitations. If fabricated in a high quality environment, the “processor” will normally saw off the the front and rear “rise” of the natural ledgestone. Picture taking a brick shaped piece of a full size stone and sawing off the front and back “faces” to yield a natural face, and natural surface top, bottom and ends. The normal specification is for the stone to have a new thickness of approximately 1″ – 1 3/8″ and a maximum weight of under 15 lbs per square foot. Natural looking “corners” are achieved the same way – however more waste is involved if the product is high enough quality to be sawn to have all natural ends. Again, imagine a brick shaped piece of natural ledge stone, look down at it from a top view, and imagine cutting one “L” shape corner out of it. The rest of the piece is scrap if it is to have all natural exposed surfaces.


At our company, as a quarrier of real stone, and also a fabricator of natural stone thin veneer, we don’t really care which product is being sold – but the reality is that the consumer has pushed the market towards natural stone thin veneer because the total job cost is less expensive doing it that way. It all makes perfect sense, dollars and cents!


As a final thought, I will say that the cheapest installer may not be the one you are looking for. Ultimately, the final look of your job comes down to the guy or crew that is doing the installation and you need to evaluate your desired outcome with your budget. Just like you may not choose the most expensive nor the least expensive stone, you may not want to choose the most expensive nor least expensive installer. It is very unlikely a non-professional could successfully install full bed natural stone. However, it is possible that an average “handy-man” can install real stone thin veneer, and may really enjoy the process and reap great satisfaction.


Best of luck with your project!

Michael Coleman is the National Sales Manager and one of the principals of Stone Direct. The Thin Veneer Store has been designed as a place for the general public, home owners, contractors, and builders, to purchase real stone thin veneer directly from the source. Our parent company, Stone Direct International, LLC has been supplying stoneyards and building material companies for over a decade. Our main business model has not changed and we will continue to protect our valued dealers. However, we realize that there are a lot of consumers in the USA and Canada, and possibly beyond, that we do not reach with our current dealer network. The internet has certainly changed the reach of conventional marketing. There may be some individual people, that inquire because of this website, that we will have to decline to sell to directly due to a conflict with our loyalty to dealers. However, if you are serious about your project with natural stone thin veneer, and your job is at least 500 sq. feet and/or linear feet, we encourage you to inquire through e-mail or phone.


Michael Coleman
National Sales Manager
http://www.thinveneerstore.com
sales@thinveneerstore.com