Creative Stone: The Natural Stone Alternative

fieldstoneadmin — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 12:47:16 +0000

What is Creative Stone?

Creative stone is produced using cement, natural iron oxide pigments, and lightweight aggregates. This creates the look, feel, and quality of natural stone, making it the perfect natural stone alternative! It is a lightweight product weighing between 7 to 9 pounds per square foot; whereas, natural stone weighs 10 to 15 pounds per square foot.

Benefits of Creative Stone - The Natural Stone Alternative

Durability: Creative stone is very durable, easy to maintain, and very resistant to chipping or scratching.
Installation Time: Because creative stone is lightweight, it can make installation up to three times faster.
Cost-Effective: Creative stone can reduce project costs by over 35%.
Retains Color: The natural oxides used become an integral part of the product, distributing color throughout the entire stone. This ensures that creative stone will retain its color for life.
Versatility: Creative stone comes in a variety of colors, styles, and accessories. It can also be used indoors or outdoors.

Creative Stone is an excellent choice if you’re looking for an alternative to natural stone. It’s cost-effective, lighter in weight, DIY friendly, and built to last. The experts at Fieldstone Center have extensive knowledge of stone and masonry products, as they have been making dreams come true since 1971. Contact us today to see how we can help make your dream become a reality.

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What is Manufactured Stone?

fieldstoneadmin — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 21:04:13 +0000

Manufactured stone, also known as Creative Stone, is a manmade, mass produced decorative stone made with cement, natural iron oxide pigments, and lightweight aggregates. The concrete mix is molded and colored to simulate the look and feel of natural stone. The use of lightweight aggregates makes it much lighter than natural stone. Because it is lightweight, it is easy to handle and install.

The Development of Manufactured Stone

Stone has been used in construction for centuries. If you were to tour the castles of Europe, you might see some of the stone structures from the 1200s still standing. Stone construction is durable.

If you were to look at many of the buildings constructed prior to the 1900s, you’ll see foundations, fireplaces, chimneys, and exterior accent features built with natural stone. By the mid-1900s, building methods improved and natural stone became more of a luxury. It was heavy, expensive, and time consuming to use.

As the market became more adaptable to other construction materials, manufactured stone became popular as an alternative building material. Today it provides a remarkably realistic rock look that it is widely used in interior and exterior applications.

How It Differs from Natural Stone

Manufactured stone, faux stone, architectural stone, cultured stone – the list continues but they all are the same. They are derived from a mold and made to look like real stone. So how does it differ from natural stone?

Manufactured stone is a decorative alternative to natural stone. Besides being lightweight, color is a great advantage because it comes in a variety of designs and colors not available in natural stone. The lightweight characteristics are also advantageous. It can be used in places where a building’s structure can’t handle the weight of natural stone.

There are disadvantages, however. For example, manufactured stone is not as durable as natural stone. Therefore, if a section breaks or is removed, it is very noticeable. It’s also a porous product. For this reason, we do not recommend using manufactured stone with water applications such as fountains and pools. The concrete will also react with chemicals, causing it to deteriorate. Early applications of manufactured stone have often disintegrated. To avoid this, when used outdoors you should take the additional step of applying a weather resistant barrier to the surface.

Today there is not much difference between the two in materials cost. Contractors know when and how to use manufactured stone to their best advantage versus natural stone. The contractor’s experience with using different materials is key to providing your project with a beautiful, quality construction.

Fieldstone Center has a wide selection of both natural and manufactured stone. Find out more when you contact us at (770) 385-7708.