Got a plain block foundation or tired siding you want faced in stone? We check the wall, plan the drainage and set the stone level.
Stone veneer installation covers the outside walls of your house in a stone cladding set over a prepared base. In Summerville, we do it so the stone looks right and the wall behind it can drain and dry.
Most calls start with a plain block foundation, a chimney or a stretch of siding the owner wants faced in stone. Stone soaks up water and holds it, and every exterior wall covering lets some water in, so a good install leaves room behind the stone for that water to drain and for air to move. Ask anyone bidding the job how they handle that.
The price moves with how much wall there is, what shape the wall underneath is in, which base the stone goes on and how many corners, windows and doors it has to work around. The schedule turns on the same things, plus summer heat and any approvals your address needs first. My written estimate lists the materials, the steps and anything not included, so you can line it up against other bids.
What's behind the stone does most of the work. These are the three things I'd want any homeowner to understand before choosing a bid.
The stone is set either on metal lath covered with a scratch coat, a rough first layer of mortar the stone grabs, or on cement board. On framed walls, trade guidance calls for two layers of water-resistive barrier under lath and scratch coat and one under cement board, so compare bids on the base and the layer count together.
One building science paper reports numerous moisture problems where adhered veneer went over wood- or steel-framed walls. It points to a missing drainage space and to inward vapor drives, moisture that hot weather pushes back toward the wall. With summers as long as ours, the gap behind the stone is worth asking about by name.
Trade guidance calls for protecting the stone from drying too fast when the air is over 100°F, or over 90°F with wind above 8 mph. That protection runs before, during and for 72 hours after the work, so a summer job here takes extra care and sometimes a schedule built around the heat.
Here's how a stone veneer job runs with us, from the first call to the last walk-around, and who handles each part.
Call (843) 376-1285 or fill out the contact form and tell me which wall you want faced and where the house is. I'll set a time to come out and see it.
I come out, look the wall over, measure it and ask what you want the stone to do for the house. You get a written estimate that spells out the materials, the steps and anything not included.
Before we start, I check with the office that covers your address about permits. Summerville allows construction from 7 AM to 9 PM, so that sets our crew's day there, and I check the work as it goes.
When the stone is up, we walk the wall with you and look over the joints, the edges and the flashing together. Then we clean up and leave the site clean.
Before any stone goes up, I check that the wall underneath is sound, looking for cracks, loose or crumbling spots and anything that moves. On block, the fix might be a repair or a new wall. Since we also build concrete block walls and handle foundation block wall installation, the same crew can put the base right before the stone goes on.
Then we plan for drainage behind the stone, with the barrier layers and flashing laid out so water that gets in has a way down and out. The estimate shows how we'll handle the barrier layers and the flashing, so it's in writing before we start and you can hold it next to anyone else's bid.
Layout comes before mortar. We set lines so the courses run level and the corners, trim and top edge come out square, because that's where crooked work shows. I'd rather spend an extra hour checking a line than have you spot a problem from the street a year later.
A band of stone along the lower part of a wall, often called wainscot, uses less material and has fewer openings to flash. A full-height face takes more stone, more flashing around windows and doors, and more time.
If the existing wall is sound, the stone can go over it once it's prepared. If it's cracked or failing, it usually makes more sense to repair or rebuild it first and face the new wall.
Send the form and expect a reply within 1 business day. The estimate is free and done on site, with no pressure to book. I'll set a time to come out, measure the wall and write up the materials, the steps and anything not included.
(843) 376-1285Summerville's Building Department requires permits for renovations and repairs to a building's structure and systems, and its list names jobs like roofing and vinyl siding but not stone veneer. That doesn't settle it for your wall either way, so we find out whether your address is inside city limits or in the county, ask the office that covers it, and handle the permit and inspections when the job needs them.
If your home is in the Downtown Historic District, Summerville's Board of Architectural Review reviews every exterior change, and its approval has to come before the permit application goes in. With an active HOA or architectural review board, the Town of Summerville wants their letter of approval before it will permit the project. We help you line up those approvals early, since nothing else moves until they're in.
Summerville also expects contractors to be licensed in South Carolina for the scope of work and to hold a Town of Summerville business license, so it's fair to ask every bidder about both. On jobs here and nearby in North Charleston and Goose Creek, we see a lot of plain block foundations, chimneys and porch columns that owners want faced in stone, and the same moisture questions come up.
I learned brick, block and stone on a big commercial outfit, where the work got measured and checked before anyone moved on to the next course. I started this business in Summerville in 2013 to work the same way on homes. We're best known for repointing and brick repair, so we spend a lot of time looking at how water gets into walls and what it does once it's there.
I come out to look at the job and measure it myself, and our own crew does the work while I check it as it goes. We're fully licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. To get started, call (843) 376-1285 or send us the details of your wall.
If the stone is meant for a garden or property wall that isn't built yet, we can lay the block first so the stone has something solid to bond to.
When the foundation wall under your planned stone is cracked, bowing or due for replacement, a new block foundation wall gives the veneer a sound, level start.
We're based in Summerville and work across the cities around it in Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties. If your city isn't on the list below, we're still glad to hear from you.
Installing stone veneer in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area usually costs about $2,300 to $8,900 per project. That's the area's usual range, not our price. Where your job lands depends on the wall area, the base the stone goes on and any repair the wall needs first, and your written estimate gives you the figure for your wall.
You give it a way out, with a drainage path behind the stone so water runs down and out. One lath maker ties veneer problems to moisture reaching the structure behind the stone, often worse where flashing is poor or missing or barrier layers are torn. A building science paper says a second layer of building paper, flashing and weep holes easily provide drainage, so ask whether each bid includes them.
Yes, if it's deteriorating or unsound, because trade guidance says adhered stone veneer shouldn't go over a wall in that shape. The same guidance rules it out over EIFS, a foam-backed synthetic stucco system. Any repair to the wall underneath belongs in the plan and the budget from the start, not as a surprise halfway through.
Summerville's permit list doesn't name stone veneer, so we ask the office that covers your address before the job starts rather than guess. If you're in the Downtown Historic District or have an HOA, those approvals come first, as covered in the Summerville section above, and we help you line them up.
The schedule is set by how much wall there is, whether it needs repair first and the weather. Hot, windy days slow things down because fresh stone has to be kept from drying too fast, and approvals can add time before we start. Your written estimate lays out the steps so you can see what comes first.
Call (843) 376-1285 or use the form with your address, the wall type, a few photos and whether you're in the Historic District or an HOA, so I know what I'm walking into before I come out.
