The StoneYard Blog Tips, News, Updates & Product Specs

Things Change

Times are tough, belts are tightening. And Stoneyard is still marching along. Major remodeling has been taking place at our 201 N. Milpas showroom but we’ve been selling and delivering as much material as ever – although talking to customers has been challenging due to all the jackhammering and pounding!

We’ve also been spending time upgrading our yard at 132 Garden St., just below the freeway. You can now easily get off the freeway, pull in to our yard and load up, and be back on the freeway in no time! We carry a full line of bulk aggregates and plan to increase our inventory over the next few months.

We’ve also been iincreasing production of our new Santa Barbara Sandstone Thin Veneer which we manufacture on site and have been supplying to projects as far away as San Diego but also here in Montecito, Hope Ranch and Santa Ynez.

Things Stay the Same

Owners, Mike Harrington and Chris Scott pride themselves in giving the most helpful, professional and friendly advice on any project and welcome your questions or requests for bids.
They also maintain a commitment to green building and providing specs for all your LEED projects.

Stoneyard is your source for all natural Santa Barbara sandstone.   We’re here to serve the contractor, architect and homeowner.

Visit our website for more information or to send us a message.

For New Homes or Home Remodels, Natural Thin Stone Veneer Provides an Ideal Choice

Quality of Product

When you look at natural thin stone veneer in place it is indistinguishable from full-depth stone or wall rock but definitely gives a more natural look than manufactured stone. Thus you get an equally visually appealing product compared to full-depth stone at a fraction of the material cost, and about half of the installation cost.

Efficiency—Natural Thin Stone Veneer Saves Money and Time

Natural thin stone veneer is a more efficient product in terms of both the economics of transporting the rock (see below under Environmentally Friendly) and the ease of installing it. This results in a substantial savings to the homeowner.

Environmentally Friendly

Natural thin stone veneer is more environmentally friendly because natural thin stone veneer uses less stone for the same amount of coverage.   Because of the weight it is more efficient to transport.

As a reclaimed natural material, natural thin veneer stone is more friendly to the environment than manufactured stone veneer, which is produced using artificial and synthetic materials. (See the upcoming article Natural Thin Stone Veneer is a Great Choice for Building Green)

Homeowner Friendly

A homeowner can learn to install natural thin stone veneer, while full-depth stone requires a skilled stonemason to install.

At Stoneyard Building Materials we are happy to answer any installation questions you may have. We will be adding posts pertaining to the following: Homeowner Tips—Installing Natural Thin Stone Veneer In Five Easy Steps, and A Step-By-Step Guide For Installing Natural Thin Stone Veneer.

We will also be referencing some great links to video tutorials showing the thin stone veneer installation process.

Get ‘Er Done!

Whether you hire a professional stonemason to install your natural thin stone veneer or do it yourself, the time required for installation will be about half as long as for full-thickness stone—thus twice as much production for the same amount of labor hours, saving money and also time. Most importantly, the job gets done quicker!

Lighter Weight of Natural Thin Stone Veneer is More Practical

Due to its lighter weight, natural thin stone veneer can often be installed without the need for a stone/brick ledge or a masonry shelf foundation when this would be required if using heavy-cut stone. Weight considerations can be an important factor in many home remodels.  Structural engineering may be required for the weight involved in using full depth wall rock.

Therefore, natural thin stone veneer is also an essential product for giving you a natural stone look on non-load-bearing walls. For this reason, architects and engineers love natural thin stone veneer as it provides an ideal material for many situations with weight restrictions.

Weight can also be an important factor if you are doing the exterior of a two-story home because the distribution of the weight extends down the walls and into the footings. With natural thin stone veneer the look is the same as full-depth stone, and the weight concerns are alleviated.

Thinner Stone Saves Space

Natural thin stone veneer provides a distinct advantage to full-depth stone when there are space limitations, such as with a zero-clearance fireplace or in small areas where space is at a premium.

In many situations, natural thin stone veneer is the only feasible product that will allow you to achieve a natural stone finish, and it provides the same attractive look as full-depth stone.

Santa Barbara Sandstone Thin Veneer

Natural thin stone veneer is a real stone product quarried from the earth and then cut to a thickness of 1¼-inches. We can also cut other sizes for custom jobs. 

Here at Stoneyard Building Materials we use a large saw to cut just the stone’s visually appealing front area, creating a highly aesthetic stone facing that offers a permanent finish with a unique look.

We offer Mission Veneer, with a hand-split, irregular face, and Presidio Veneer, a Santa Barbara sandstone cobble rock (river rock). This natural thin sandstone veneer can be applied to just about any surface. (We’ll be adding a how-to post soon) 

Natural thin stone veneer ages well and gains character with time, in contrast to synthetic products (e.g., fake stone), which tend to look worse with age.

Natural stone is virtually maintenance free. In a moderate climate like Santa Barbara the stone doesn’t need to be sealed, so there are no sealer maintenance issues, and also no discoloration of the natural stone as often occurs with sealants.

Natural thin stone veneer resists chipping and scratching, and if it is nicked or scratched the look will not be affected because the stone is consistent throughout, unlike artificial stone products.

Our sandstone thin veneer is about one-third of the weight of full-dimension stone, meaning three times as much can be shipped at once, which saves on shipping costs and lessens the environmental impact. Thin veneer stone is also quarried and cut locally, creating local jobs.

This product is installed at numerous locations, here in the Santa Barbara area, both residential and commercial.  We’ll be posting more pictures and information on our website in the near future.  Let us know if you have any questions and, as always, we’d be happy to help you design or estimate your next project.   You can leave questions or comments below or contact us any time.

Please bear with us while we get our new blog up and running for upcoming building tips, information on new stone products available in the Santa Barbara area and other fun tidbits from the masonry world.

In the meantime, visit our website !