I have heard that you can create your own stone veneer for $1sqft. Average price is $7sqft. Hs anyone had any experience with this ? I am looking to remodel soon and need some advice on how to make the stones, where the best place to buy all the materials is and how to apply it to the exterior of my home. Can someone help me ?

Thanx

If you havent try doing a yahoo search for "Stone Veneer Molds". You will see Stonecasterstudio.com and rubbermoldcompany.com. It seems like Stonecasterstudio.com will sell small packages for the DIY'r. and the Rubbermoldcompany.com sells 100+sqft packages for manufacturers. Guess it all depends on your budget and how many sqft of stone you need to make. Hope that helps.

Thanks Mama ! I called Stone Caster Studio and purchased a "starter-kit". I should have it by the new year and am super excited. They had a lot of info and that got me real pumped. I can't wait ! I will let you know how it turnes out. Have you done this before ? Any tips ? Ideas ? Thank you again.

No problem Seeker...thats what Moms do..lol! What type of climate will you be making your stones in?

Wow ! Quick reply, thank you !

I live in the Midwest. Southern Indiana to be exact. Does this make a difference in making stone veneer ?

No Problem!

Your climate will determine your concrete mixture as well as the environment you need to create to properly cure stones in your area. Cold places below 60degrees will need to have some kind of heating system in place to keep the area you are making concrete products within the desirable 60-90degrees. The warmer the area the faster your concrete will set. I would suggest taking the average temp in you area for the season you plans to make stones and make a system accordingly.

Thank you again. I have a "torpedo" heater, I am assuming I can use that to raise the temp in my work space. I also have a kerosene heater if that might work better. I will try both. I will be getting my molds soon. I will let you know how it turns out.

~Thank you.

ALRIGHT !! I got my molds, but it is a little too cold here to get too much done. So I made a very small batch and produced my first stones ! They look amazing. Coloring was not as hard as I thought it would be. With a little practice, I am sure I will have it down pat. I just can't believe it was THAT easy. My cousin is a local contractor and he said that he has a very high demand for pre-cast stone veneer. I am going to order a lot more molds and start manufacturing.
Do you have any useful tips on how to do this on a larger scale than 5sqft at a time ? I have up to 1000sqft to use (a large detached garage/workshop), is this enough space ?
I look forward to your reply. Thank you.

Glad to hear it! Sounds like your enjoying making stone veneer. Sounds like you might have enough space to get going. My only tip would be to make sure you only take on as much as you can handle...start out slow.

Keep me updated!
Mama