A new K-12 school brings relief to its community—whether alleviating crowding or offering a beacon of opportunity and advancement. Designing schools with manufactured stone veneer offers a number of advantages that can help education projects look and perform their best while meeting some of the unique challenges they may face.

Advantages of Manufactured Stone Veneer for Schools

Manufactured stone’s versatility in design and installation makes it an ideal option for both the exterior and interior of school projects.

• Authentic design, accessible format: Stone adds an instant level of beauty and elegance to a building, and manufactured stone delivers those styles at a cost that is typically lower than natural stone. And with a vast array of profiles and colors, nearly any look is within reach without the limitations of geography. For more traditional-style schools, MSV brick patterns offer classic authenticity.

In addition, MSV can be used on both interiors and exteriors, making it easy to carry over design elements and maintain a consistent design aesthetic.

• Durability: Inside, schools teeming with children face high traffic and often raucous behavior. Outside, they must deal with the same harsh weather as other commercial buildings. As a cement-based material, manufactured stone veneer is durable, long-lasting, and, depending on the product, often carries high wind- and fire-resistance ratings. And should a piece get damaged, it’s easier to replicate and replace because it’s a manufactured product versus natural quarried options that may no longer be available or in a matching color.

• Efficient installation: Schools under construction or under renovation are often under tight time constraints. Manufactured stone is lighter in weight than natural stone and typically requires less cutting to fit, so it’s a practical option for creating stone looks with greater efficiency.  

• Biophilic design: Biophilic design infuses elements such as plants and daylight into interior spaces to increase connections with nature and the world outside, thereby enhancing our health and wellness.  “Classrooms that utilize biophilic design enhance student creativity and support overall healthier development due to our biologically encoded connection to nature,” the Green Building Alliance says.

Manufactured stone veneer is one of many ways to increase biophilic design in schools, adding natural elements, texture, and warmth. (Learn more about MSV and biophilia in our blog “3 Strategies for Infusing Biophilic Design into Your Projects.”)

Education Projects Using Manufactured Stone Veneer

Options abound for designing schools using manufactured stone. Here are a few examples to get your design ideas flowing:

This library features Eldorado Stone’s Manzanita Cliffstone and Cambria Cliffstone as an accent wall at the entrance lobby and for the fun kid’s area shown here, adding a touch of warmth while elevating the outdoor theme.

Echelon Masonry’s Lamina Artisan Stone was chosen, along with brick and metal, to help this elementary blend in with its natural surroundings while also transitioning easily to the interior. “The plan also incorporated generous windows throughout the facility, allowing for a harmonious connection between indoors and outdoors, making the balance of materials essential,” Echelon says.

This elementary school, a 95,000-square-foot new construction build, features Jewell manufactured stone on the exterior façade. 

Want to learn more about the possibilities of manufactured stone veneer? Visit our MSV page here.

original article courtesy of CMHA: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association

Manufactured stone veneer (MSV) is produced in a variety of different patterns, colors, and styles to fit regional design trends and personal design aesthetics. This diversity of looks provides tremendous design flexibility.

While everything manufacturer is different and offers its own unique selection of styles and colors, there is some general overlap in the types of profiles and colors. This stone veneer style guide outlines different stone veneer profile types to highlight the unique elements that can add a timeless touch to your next residential or commercial project.

Stone Veneer Profile Styles

Manufactured stone veneer adds an earthly elegance to projects while oftentimes providing a cost-saving option for the property owner due to its durability, long life cycle, and high return on investment. Whether you are considering stone veneer for an interior or exterior project, the array of dimensions, textures, and colors will add an eye-catching element to any design.

• Traditional stone veneer mimics the look of natural stone, with rugged edges and weather faced textures for a rustic look and feel. Traditional stone veneer profiles, such as Ledgestone, feature a mix of shapes and sizes for a classic look reminiscent of 18th and 19th century stone homes. The charm of traditional-style stone veneer stands the test of time and is perfect both as an accent or the main attraction.
• Modern stone veneer is often characterized by clean, straight lines with a symmetrical surface area, so it is the ideal choice for a sleek, bold, or minimalistic aesthetic. Modern stone veneer is most commonly offered in cool-toned color palettes, such as neutral whites and sleek greys, to complement the hues often seen in contemporary designs.
• Eccentric stone veneer colors and textures add an eye-catching element to facades and interior walls. The large, organic shapes create a stand-out focal point that can also be used to highlight spaces such as fireplaces, grills, or entryways for an impactful first impression.
• Thin brick veneer provides a classic brick look without the intense labor or added weight. Although thin brick works well for traditional- and classic-style homes, its vast color range and available edge profiles make it easy to adapt to any aesthetic – including modern.

Stone Veneer Colors

Just as important as the profile itself is the color of the stone veneer. The structural design of the building and surrounding environment can impact your stone veneer color selection. Warmer tones such as burnt ambers and elegant oranges are best suited for rustic and traditional-style designs for a cozier appearance, while cool, darker tones are ideal for bold and modern aesthetics.

Stone veneer color trends can also vary based upon the region of the country where you are building. In the Southwest, for example, cream-colored hues dominate the landscape thanks to its similarity to Texas limestone. In the Northeast, warmer tones that are reminiscent of the traditional stone homes of early settlers tend to be the selection of choice.

original article courtesy of CMHA: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association

On the exterior of the home, protecting the building envelope from water penetration is essential to the structure’s long-term performance. When installing manufactured stone veneer, it’s important to follow both manufacturer instructions and local codes for weatherization requirements in the form of rainscreens and water-resistant barriers (WRBs).

CMHA offers full installation guidelines in its Manufactured Stone Veneer Installation Guide. Here are the guidelines to consider when it comes to WRBs and rainscreens.

Rainscreens and Manufactured Stone Veneer

Rainscreens are optional building techniques used to improve the drainage of incidental water behind the cladding and reduce drying time. Rainscreen products (such as drainage mats or formed polymer sheeting) or construction techniques (such as strapping or furring) that create a capillary break/air space between the cladding and the water resistive barrier can be effectively incorporated into AMSV applications. Refer to the manufacturer’s recommendation for rainscreen/drainage system applications with adhered manufactured stone veneer wall systems.

Building codes may allow a single layer of a water-resistant barrier when a drainage space is incorporated in the wall system (i.e. rainscreen). Based on the 2021 International Building Code, when a drainage space is required, the space/material provided must be at least 3/16 in. (4.8 mm) applied to the exterior side of the WRB. Further, the WRB used behind the drainage space must provide a water resistance equal to or greater to that provided by materials that comply with ASTM E2556 Type 2. Local jurisdictions may have different requirements for drainage space size.

Requirements for rainscreens vary by region. Verify local jurisdictional requirements regarding the use and application of rainscreens and/or drainage products.

Water Resistive Barriers and Manufactured Stone Veneer

For installations over light frame construction, where a water-resistant barrier (WRB) is required, it should be installed in two separate layers in shingle fashion, starting from the bottom of the wall. The inner layer of the WRB (herein referred to as the Primary WRB) should be installed, along with flashings, to create a drainage plane. The outer layer of WRB (herein referred to as the Secondary WRB) is intended to keep the scratch coat from contacting the Primary WRB.

For WRB materials complying with ASTM D226, the upper layer of the WRB should lap on top of the lower layer by a minimum of 2 inches (51 mm), and the vertical joints should be lapped a minimum of 6 inches (152 mm). Refer to the WRB manufacturer’s information for lapping requirements for other WRBs. Inside and outside corners must be overlapped a minimum of 16 inches (406 mm) past the corner in both directions.

The WRB should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and be integrated with all flashing accessories, adjacent WRBs, doors, windows, penetrations, and cladding transitions.

Acceptable WRBs:

• No. 15 felt complying with ASTM D226 Type 1.

• ASTM E2556 Type I or II

• Approved equal in accordance with the building code.

Other approved materials must be used and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and as detailed in compliance reports. The following is a non-exhaustive list of additional materials that may be suitable as a WRB if they include documentation of compliance with the referenced acceptance criteria:

• Materials evaluated for compliance with ICC-ES AC38.

• Liquid-applied materials evaluated for compliance with ICC-ES AC212 (for use as Primary WRB only)

• Pre-coated sheathing evaluated for compliance with ICC-ES AC310 (for use as Primary WRB only)

• It is permitted to use only a primary WRB between cement board and the substrate.

• As discussed in the “Rainscreen Drainage Plane Systems”, building codes may allow a single layer of a WRB to be used when a drainage space is incorporated in the wall system. Requirements for the rainscreens vary by region. Verify with the local jurisdictional requirements regarding the use an application of rainscreens. Refer to Figures 35-38 for details on such construction method.

• When transitioning to another cladding, refer to the applicable building code requirements for WRB behind that specific cladding system. Despite the number of layers required for the non-AMSV cladding, there must be two (2) layers of WRB present behind the AMSV.

• Some types of continuous insulation may be substituted for the Primary WRB provided it is installed and sealed and/or taped in accordance with the insulation manufacturer’s installation instructions and approved for such applications. Continuous insulation is commonly applied on the exterior side of the framing or on the exterior side of sheathing, runs continuously, and has minimal thermal bridging. Ensure WRB(s) selected are approved for wall applications. Some WRBs intended for roofs are not appropriate for walls. For example, 15-pound felt is not the same product as No. 15 felt. For details of this practice, please refer to the continuous insulation figures shown throughout the figures section of this guide.

Installation Resources

For full guidelines on preparing walls for manufactured stone veneer, download CMHA’s Manufactured Stone Veneer Installation Guide.

original article courtesy of CMHA: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association

From both an aesthetic and performance standpoint, manufactured stone offers a range of opportunity for both residential and commercial architects. Manufactured stone veneer’s versatility ensures flexibility and freedom in design alongside long-term durability for the client.

How Manufactured Stone Veneer Benefits Architects

Among manufactured stone’s advantages are a handful that ensure architectural freedom.

• Authenticity without limitations: Manufactured stone veneer offers the look of natural stone but without some of the drawbacks that might hinder design freedom. MSV masters are made using natural stone, and new technologies allow for replication of fine details. At the same time, MSV is lighter in weight, isn’t limited by locality, and typically costs less than natural stone.

• Diversity of styles and colors: Because it’s manmade, the options for profiles, textures, and colors of manufactured stone are vast. Exotic or unique looks are not limited to far-flung locales, so nearly any aesthetic vision is possible. At the same time, MSV doesn’t have to be purely natural in feel—it is also available in many modern, contemporary profiles and monochromatic color schemes.

• Consistency: The look and availability of natural stone cannot be controlled, which means there can be no promise of consistency or availability. With manufactured stone, on the other hand, repairs, replacements, or additions can typically be made possible because the materials do not rely on nature’s availability. This also means less culling and sorting to find flaw-free looks that coordinate on the wall.

• Application versatility: Because manufactured stone veneer is lighter in weight than natural stone, it can be used in a broader array of applications that stone or brick may be too heavy for. It’s also suitable for horizontal and vertical applications as well as for interior and exterior projects.

What Should Architects Keep in Mind When Specifying Manufactured Stone Veneer?

Manufactured stone veneer’s makeup and application mean there are a few factors that architects should consider in plans and specifications.

• Weatherization: As outlined in CMHA’s Manufactured Stone Veneer Installation Guide, rainscreens that create a capillary break/air space between the cladding and the water resistive barrier can be effectively incorporated into adhered manufactured stone veneer applications. Some local codes require the use of a rainscreen. Refer to the manufacturer’s recommendation for rainscreen/drainage system applications, and drainage space size requirements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

• Wall ties and footings: Because it’s lighter in weight than natural stone, MSV typically doesn’t require wall ties and footings. Manufactured stone also requires fewer structural modifications for remodeling applications.

• Height considerations: Depending on the structural material, installation heights may be limited for some manufactured stone. ‘Check with the manufacturer and local building code requirements for more information.

• Fireplace applications: Most manufactured stone veneer can be used for fireplace surrounds, but consideration should be given for avoiding exposure to direct flame. For instance, MSV should not be used as returns into a firebox of a fireplace.

More Resources for Architects

Ready to learn more about designing with manufactured stone veneer? Check out CMHA’s full library of resources, continuing education courses, and online learning opportunities.

original article courtesy of CMHA: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association