Stone veneer installation in Palm Beach Gardens FL - stone that stays on the wall

Stone veneer installed across the US usually costs about $15 to $45 per square foot, and that's a national range for the stone put up on the wall, not my price for yours. Where your job lands depends on the wall prep, whether it's a framed wall that needs lath, the stone you pick and how much cutting the corners and openings take. When I come out, the written estimate gives you the figure for your wall.

Usually it can, as long as the wall is sound. The industry's installation guide says not to put veneer over walls that are deteriorating or unsound, or over EIFS, a foam-backed stucco system, and it wants masonry or concrete clean, free of paint or sealers and able to soak up water so the mortar bonds. A dirty wall can be power washed or blasted clean, and where mortar still won't bond, the guide has the installer add lath and a scratch coat first. I check all of that on your wall when I come out.

It holds best when the lath is fastened into something solid. On framed walls, wood and gypsum sheathing don't have the holding power to carry the lath and stone, and a fastener held only by sheathing can work loose, especially once the sheathing gets wet. Proper fastening helps keep veneer on the wall in a hard blow, so ask any installer how they'll fasten the lath, and you already know my answer from above.

Palm Beach County says only homeowners and qualified contractors can pull permits, and in Palm Beach Gardens the city's Building Department handles building and permitting, so that's the office to ask whether your stone job needs one. When it does, we pull it with the city or county office that covers your address and set up the inspections. The county's permit application also warns that if you don't record a notice of commencement, the paper saying work is starting on your property, you may end up paying twice for the work, and it has to be recorded and posted on the job before the first inspection.

Ask about their experience and how they handle the wall behind the stone, not just the price, because the industry guide finds that workmanship in the field tends to be the main source of trouble when veneer has problems. You can check with the county that a contractor is certified to work there or licensed by the State of Florida. We're licensed and insured, I've done this work myself since 2013, and it's satisfaction guaranteed on every job.

The stone work itself is usually the shorter part, and most of the time goes to whatever the wall needs first, any permit and inspections, and the weather. An industry guide specification calls for protecting fresh veneer from drying too fast when it's over 100°F, or over 90°F with wind above 8 mph, before, during and for 72 hours after the work, so a stretch of hot, windy days can shape when the stone goes up. I'll tell you what your schedule turns on when I write the estimate.