The wood siding on this 70-year old house has started to show its age – cracking, splintering and separating. So the homeowner decided to give her house a dramatic new look.

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Male: The wood siding on this 70-year-old house has started to show its age, cracking, splintering, and separating. So the homeowner decided to give her house a dramatic new look. The new exterior is manufactured stone by El Dorado Stone, created with Portland cement, lightweight aggregates, and iron oxide color pigments. Manufactured stone is becoming a popular alternative to a natural stone exterior Male: There are several reasons to work with Manufactured Stone I suppose to a natural stone. One big benefit is the weight, very, very lightweight about half that of natural stone. That means we’re not going to have to put any wall ties on our wall. We’re not going to have to a brick ledge or any build up on the foundation, very easy to attach it directly to the wall. Another big benefit hits you right in the pocket book, it's about half the cost of natural stone. Male: Jenny Rodi has been in the home improvement business for 20 years. She says, “El Dorado creates the look of natural stone by using molds made from real stones.” Female: In the process begins with the collection of natural stones, we go all over the world to find the natural stones that we used. Then our molds are made. We have a very technically advanced molds that picked up all the textural detail of the stone that you see here. The next process in the mold is that, the oxide color dyes are hand applied in a variety of different manners depending upon the stone type that we’re using. From that point the cement mixture is poured into the molds the stones are cast and after that, they’re packaged. Our emphasis is on the textural detail, the color application with the hand applied color application, we feel we get the most natural look of the stone and that most natural replication of stone that you see out there. Male: In this case, the stone will be applied over the wood siding. But the before the stoning steward goes on, the crew does have some prep work to do. First, the house is wrap to provide a weather barrier between the siding and the stone. The next step is to attach sheets of metal lot over the weather barrier. These stones will hang from this lot. Male: But it doesn’t have to be metal lot. You can do it on any type of concrete blot, you can do it against brick, you can even do it against an open stud. You just have to get a surface and just go ahead and push it in place and it’s going to be there forever. Male: The stones are attached to the metal lot with mortar made from masonry cement sand and water. The courier applies a generous layer of mortar to the lot in one small area at a time. Then they begin applying the manufactured stone to the home’s exterior. The stones come in varying shapes and sizes, giving the stonemasons a chance to create a unique look. Fitting the stones and alternating their sizes is like working in a giant jigsaw puzzle. And if one piece doesn’t fit, the stone is easily chipped down to size to fill in small gaps. There are a dozen different stone profiles and 52 colors to choose from. El Dorado also makes regional profiles for stones that are native to certain parts to the country. Manufacture Stone also provide easy installation at corners. Stones cut at 90-degree angles are made specifically to wrap around corners and provide a clean finish look. Female: You want it to look random and likely to stone taken out of nature, so therefore our corner pieces are all different sizes and shapes. We also have a wide range of accent pieces available on this home. We used a sill piece and Wayne’s cut sill piece at the bottom of the window. Male: Once the stones are attached to the wall, grout is applied to fill in the spaces between the stones. Female: The stone type that you see here, we’ve used a grout application, a standard grout application. We have other stone types available where it’s called the Dry Stack. Where you actually do not see the grout in the joint and it’s installed so that there is no gap. In this instance the mason will adheres the stone to the wall and then go back with the grout bag and fill in the holes and then brush them to get the clean look that you see here. Male: On this house, stone is applied on the brick chimney as well without a need for a lot surface. Jenny says, manufactured stone can be applied to brick but only if it’s properly prepared. Female: An existing chimney if the break is clean, it’s no problem to apply the stone directly to it. If it is treated, sealed or painted, it needs to be either water or sand blasted, acid etched or wire brushed and cleaned and the stone can be applied directly to it. The beauty of manufactured stone is you can basically take a home that does not have much character in which you add manufactured stone. It creates a whole different look and feel. Male: If you’re looking to create a new look and feel for your home exterior, Manufactured Stone might be the right choice for you. For more information on how to improve the looks and value of new house, visit El Dorado Stone on the internet on eldoradostone.com