Stone on the front of the house, a wainscot along the base of the walls, stone wraps on the porch columns, a stone face on the garage or the chimney chase: that is what this page covers. We install exterior stone veneer in full-bed natural stone and mortar-set cultured stone across the Twin Cities.
A veneer is a facing applied to a wall that already carries the load. What decides whether it looks right and lasts is the wall it goes on and the way the joints are laid, far more than the stone you pick off a sample board.
When Stone Veneer Is the Job
What We Install and Repair
Full-bed natural stone veneer
Real stone set in mortar on house fronts, wainscots, chimney chases, and garage fronts. It carries its own weight down to a ledge or a foundation rather than hanging from adhesive, which is the difference that determines how long a veneer lasts outdoors here.
Mortar-set cultured stone veneer
Manufactured stone is the one veneer product, beyond natural stone, that we work with, set properly in mortar on a prepared wall. The finish depends far more on the layout and the jointing than on the stone you choose.
Stone column and post wraps
Entry and porch columns faced in stone, with the top and the base detailed so water is shed clear of the post inside.
Garage-front and chimney-chase facing
Stone facing on a garage front or a framed chimney chase, matched to the house.
Repair of failed or loose exterior veneer
Where exterior stone facing has come loose, lost pieces, or started to hold water, the affected area is taken back to sound work and reset, with the backing and the water path looked at so the same section does not let go again.
Matching into existing stone
Where new veneer meets stone already on the house, we set a sample out where the work will go so the color and size are judged against your house, not off a screen. For older stone, an exact match is not available from anyone, and we will say how close is realistic before the work starts.
What this job does not include
The quarter-inch adhered thin veneer, the glue-on panel product. Different material, different trade, and not work we take on.
Interior stone accent walls, fireplace and firebox stone.
Freestanding, boundary, and retaining stone walls, structural stone columns and piers, and fieldstone work are on our stone walls page.
Full-brick veneer and the rebuild of a bellied brick skin after wall-tie failure, which are on our brick walls page.
Siding, housewrap, sheathing and framing. We face stone onto a prepared wall; building the wall behind it is a different trade.
What Decides Whether a Veneer Lasts Here
Most of a veneer job is in two details that are finished before the stone ever goes on: what the stone bears on, and whether water that works in behind it can drain back out. Get those wrong, and no stone saves the wall.
Any facing on an outside wall will take in water at some point, driven in by wind or carried down from above. On a wall built to let that water drain and dry, it does no harm. On a wall where it is trapped, the freeze cycle that affects all masonry here attacks the veneer from behind, and the stone starts letting go a few winters later. Our tuckpointing page explains how the freeze cycle works.
So the details that earn the money are the ledge or support the stone bears on, the flashing where the veneer meets a roof, a window or the top of a wainscot, and the gap that lets water drain at the bottom. We would rather spend the conversation on those than on the stone, because the stone is the part that looks fine on day one no matter what.
How a Veneer Job Runs
Why Us for Stone Veneer
We set full stone in mortar
Full-bed natural stone and mortar-set cultured stone behave outdoors in a way a glued-on facing cannot. If a thin adhesive product is what you are after, we will tell you plainly it is not what we do.
We spend the money where it keeps the veneer up
The backing, the flashing and the drainage behind a veneer are what decide whether it holds, so that is where the care goes, even though none of it shows in the finished wall.
Sam is on the job, not just on the estimate
Most of our Google reviews name him personally. On a six-person outfit, that is how the layout and the jointing stay consistent.
Ten years on the workmanship
In writing, on what we set. It covers our work, not stone you brought or a wall somebody else built, and it is not a materials warranty.
Natural Stone or Cultured Stone
Both are real options here, and the choice usually comes down to look and budget. Neither is the thin adhesive panel, which is a different product altogether.
Full-bed natural stone is quarried stone with real depth, set in mortar and carrying its weight down to a support. It has the look people picture when they say stone, and it is the heavier and the more involved of the two to set.
Cultured stone, the manufactured product, is lighter and comes in consistent shapes, which can make a tidy result more predictable on a plain wall. Set properly in mortar on a prepared wall, it is a sound exterior veneer and the one manufactured product we work with.
What decides whether either looks right is the same thing: the layout, the joints, and the details at the top, the base, and the edges. We will talk both through at the estimate against the wall you actually have.
Common Questions
What is the difference between the stone veneer you install and the stick-on kind?+
We set full-bed natural stone and mortar-set cultured stone, both real masonry that carries its own weight and is bedded in mortar. The stick-on kind is a quarter-inch panel glued to a surface, a different material and a different trade, and it is the one stone product we do not take on.
Do you install cultured or manufactured stone?+
Yes, set properly in mortar on a prepared wall. It is the one manufactured product we work with, and it behaves as a real veneer because it is bedded in mortar rather than glued on.
Natural stone or cultured stone, which should I choose?+
Usually a question of look and budget more than of quality, since both are sound exterior veneers when set in mortar. Natural stone has real depth and weight; cultured stone is lighter and more consistent in shape. We will talk both through against your wall at the estimate.
Can you face just the front, or a wainscot, or the columns, rather than the whole house?+
Yes to all of them. A full front, a wainscot band along the base, column wraps, a garage front, or a chimney chase are all veneer work, and many houses take stone on just one of those while the rest of the elevation stays as it is.
Will the new stone match what is already on the house?+
We set a sample where the wall will go before anything is ordered, so you judge the match against your house rather than off a screen. For older stone, an exact match is not available from anyone, and we say so up front.
Is stone veneer structural?+
No. A veneer is a facing on a wall that is already carrying the load. If what you want is a stone wall that stands on its own, a column, or a wall that holds a slope, that is the job for our stone walls page.
Can a stone veneer trap water and cause problems?+
Only where the backing and the drainage behind it were skipped. Water will get behind any facing; on a wall built to let it drain and dry, it does no harm, and on a wall where it is trapped, the freeze cycle works on the veneer from behind. That is why the details behind the stone are where the job really is.
Can you repair exterior stone facing that has come loose?+
Yes. The affected area is taken back to sound work and reset, and we look at why it let go, because the cause is usually the bedding or the water path and only rarely the stone. Interior accent stone is on our fireplace and interior stone page.
Can this go up in winter?+
The setting waits for weather mild enough for mortar to cure, since a fresh veneer is all green mortar. We will come out, look, and price it in any season so it is ready when the weather turns.
What does the warranty cover?+
Ten years in writing on the workmanship. It covers what we set and stops at the wall we faced, so stone you supplied or a wall another trade built sits outside it. The full terms are in the contract.
Where We Do This Work
We install exterior stone veneer across St. Paul, Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Richfield, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Wayzata, Blaine, Circle Pines, Little Canada, Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Cottage Grove, Stillwater, South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights, Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Lakeville, Victoria, North Branch and Big Lake. For locations farther than about 45 miles from St. Paul, send photographs before the visit.
What Customers Say
What appears below is our live Google feed rather than testimonials we picked out, so it shows whatever is genuinely on it.
Get a Free Estimate
A photograph of the wall the stone is going on helps more than a photograph of the stone itself, since the wall determines the job. For a repair, a close shot of where the veneer has let go and a wider one of the elevation tell us most of what we need.
Talk to Sam: (612) 509-0718 · Written estimate, options priced · MN BC807211