Aside from wood and vinyl, brick and stone is the next common construction material in line. Having been used for hundreds of years, brick and stone are very durable and long lasting compared to other construction materials. They also look far more elegant than their vinyl and wood counterparts. Another great benefit that one receives when using brick and stone is a much higher level of fire resistance, especially when compared to wood. On top of that, there are literally hundreds of different styles and designs of both brick and stone, which will soon be mentioned. The specific type that one chooses to use for their project depends on the type of style they desire.
1. Brick
Featured in a variety of colors and textures, brick is one of the most sturdy and long lasting options that one can choose. Another alternative to real brick is brick veneer, which is essentially a thinner variety of brick. In fact, brick veneer is more commonly used because of the fact that it uses less material, therefore being much more inexpensive. However, it will offer much of the same benefits that come with standard brick, including durability and a long life span. Another thing to consider about brick veneer is that it’s much easier to work with, being much lighter in weight.
2. Cobblestone
Cobblestone can be found in many European-style houses and buildings. These cobblestones are usually installed with a bit of a gap, usually a half inch filled with grout or cement. More often than not, cobblestone walls have pieces which vary in size, color and sometimes texture, giving it a unique appearance. It’s therefore important for the mason to evenly mix or distribute these different sized pieces throughout the wall. Unlike brick veneer, cobblestone has a much more solid feel and structure, enabling it to last much longer. One of the best upsides to cobblestone is that it’s relatively inexpensive.
3. Hand Cut Stone
Hand cut stone is simply stone that’s cut into different sized rectangular shapes. One has a variety of options while using this method, as they can use different combinations of sizes, colors and even patterns. Although not really labor intensive, cutting each stone into various shapes requires time, skill and the right tools. The initial cost for cutting tools may cost a few dollars, but the material itself is really not that expensive, depending on the material purchased. The overall appearance of hand cut stone is both elegant and modern.
4. Field Stone and Tuscan Field Stone
This particular type of stone theme is commonly used in many desert areas. Field stone walls are filled with mosaic shaped stones which slightly vary in size, much like a puzzle of some sort. They can be bought in different shades of brown, tan or grey. Tuscan field stone, on the other hand, is far more jagged and texture compared to regular field stone. Some of the pieces may even vary greatly in size and shape. This type of stone design will give any building or house a very sturdy, bold appearance. Installment is much like putting pieces of a puzzle together.
5. Manor Stone and River Stone
Being a variant of field stone, both manor and river stone are a bit more uniform and casual in appearance. In fact, one can easily mistake manor stone for cobblestone designs, as they both use various sizes and colors of stone within the same wall, except a bit more uniform. The river stone variety is a bit more random on the other hand, except that they resemble large pebbles rather than jagged edges used in field stone walls. Using either variety will result in a structure that resembles the typical castle-like theme. Unlike cobblestone, where both light and dark colors are used, manor stone designs usually use different shades of grey.
6. Stack
One of the most notable features about stack is that it has a very modern, dynamic appearance. Stack consists of stones which are cut into thin, long rectangular pieces, much like hand cut stone but far more narrow and long. Each stone slightly varies in width and height. However, unlike hand cut stone, grout or cement cannot be seen in between each stone. In fact, a stack wall will look as if someone simply stacked each stone on top of one another, hence the name.
7. Ledgestone
Ledgestone is strikingly similar to stack in both appearance and structure. The main difference lies in the fact that ledgestone has much rougher edges curves. Basically, ledgestone looks as if someone slightly bent and warped each brick. Just like stack, one cannot see grout or cement between the gaps.