ʻO nā ʻano o ka veneer pōhaku

Would seem a pretty simple question right? And yes, it’s a pretty simple answer – cladding made from stone.  However from the meetings I have with contractors and surveyors, I see it often gets over-complicated in designers’ minds and confused with traditional stone masonry.

Natural stone is one of the oldest materials used by man in construction.  We only have to look at buildings such as the Taj Mahal completed in 1648 using white marble, or the Great Pyramid thought to have been completed in 2560BC made predominantly out of limestone to appreciate the longevity of stone as a material.  (Imagine the architect specifying the Design Life for the Pyramid….)

Ua loli maoli nā ʻano hana hana mai ka wā i kūkulu ai lākou i ka Taj Mahal, a mahalo i nā ʻāpana like ʻole a me nā kālepa i loko o ka ʻoihana kūkulu e pili ana i ka ʻike ʻana a me ka pūnaewele i nā makahiki, ʻaʻole pono mākou e hoʻopaʻa i nā poloka pōhaku koʻikoʻi ma luna o kekahi e hana i ka helehelena. o ka hale pohaku paa. 

Traditional stone masonry (not something we do here at AlterEgo by the way), is loaded onto the building’s foundations and uses stones and mortar, tied back with wall-ties – think brickwork.

ʻO ka uhi pōhaku o kēia wā ma kekahi ʻaoʻao, ua kau ʻia mai ka hale kūkulu hale, a ua hui pū ʻia e like me ka ʻōnaehana pale ua. 

ʻIke ʻoe, ʻo ka pā pōhaku, he a pale uaina ʻōnaehana a pono e mālama ʻia e like me ia. 

Looking through a cross section of a typical stone cladding build-up you’ll see lots of familiar components: spreader bars, helping-hand brackets, rails and T-bars.  It’s only the facing material which is interchangeable. 

There are a few nuances when working with natural stone for the first time, but nothing that a day’s training and our on-site support won’t cover.

So if you’re a contractor used to installing aluminium and steel cladding or you specialize in terracotta; don’t be afraid of stone! Check out this video showing the simplicity of our EGO-02S system EGO 02s INSTALLATION BETA – YouTube

I ka wā e pili ana i ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i ka papa hoʻopaʻa pōhaku i ka hale kākoʻo, ʻelua mau ʻano hoʻoponopono nui:

Nā heleuma lalo

With an undercut anchor system, typically used for larger format panels, holes are pre-drilled into the back of the stone, a sleeve and bolt inserted and fixed onto a hanging clasp and horizontal system.  This method is good for natural stone panels with a thickness range from 30-50mm and can be used in both stack and stretcher bond layouts, typically in a portrait layout.   Undercut anchors are always used in soffit situations.

No ka mea, aia nā mea hoʻoponopono a pau ma ke kua o ka panel, ʻo kēia ʻano hana huna-hoʻoponopono, ʻaʻohe mea i ʻike ʻia.

Kalai

The kerf method of fixing stone is where a continuous groove is cut in the top and bottom of the stone, and the stone simply sits on a rail or clasp at the bottom and restrained at the top.  A kerf system works particularly well for horizontally laid panels in either stack or stretcher bond.

ʻO ka wikiwiki a me ka maʻalahi o ka hoʻokomo ʻana a me ka ʻoiaʻiʻo e hiki ke hoʻokomo ʻia nā panela me ka ʻole o ke kaʻina hana i kēia ʻano hana i hoʻohana nui ʻia i ka ʻōnaehana pale pōhaku.

ʻO nā ʻano hoʻonohonoho ʻelua he mea maʻamau i wehe ʻia, akā naʻe, ʻo ke kuhikuhi ʻana i nā hono me kahi sealant non-migratory hiki ke hōʻike i ke ʻano o kahi hale masonry kuʻuna. 

If you’re considering stone for your next project, please get in contact.