You have finally made the decision to remodel that dated brick fireplace or get rid of that boring tile surround that your builder over charged you for. But now you need to decide if you want your stone veneer installed with or without a mortar joint. We will assume you have already picked your stone veneer in the perfect color of your choice and you or your mason are ready to start the project. Additionally, we are assuming the wall is already prepped and has a scratch coat of mortar and ready for the manufactured stone.
At North Star Stone we feel that a mortar joint adds a touch of class, especially when you are using some of the textured ledge stones like our Mountain Stack or our Wisconsin Prairie stone. We prefer that most of our mortar joints are tighter, usually in the range of ¼” to 3/8” of an inch.
Some stones are typically always installed with a mortar joint. In the case of the stone selection from North Star Stone, the following stone veneers look best with a mortar joint: Cobble Stone, Cut Limestone, River Rock and Fieldstone.
Stones almost always installed without a mortar joint include our manufactured stone styles of Narrow Profile and Castle Rock.
The textured ledge stones such as our Drystack stone, Mountain Ledge Stone, Mountain Stack Stone and Wisconsin Prairie Stone can be installed with or without a mortar joint.
Visit our showroom or look at our stone fireplace pictures and our stone exterior images to decide what works best for you. (One word of caution, in the Midwest where we have a lot of harsh weather, all of our exterior stone projects are installed with a mortar joint. The exception is of the stone veneer is being applied over an existing masonry wall).
Stone Fireplaces With Mortar
Stone Fireplaces Without Mortar
