Characteres lapidis crustae

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….)

Modi constructionis manifesto mutati sunt quia Taj Mahal aedificaverunt, et propter varias regiones et negotiationes in constructione industriae crucis-referendi et retis per annos, iam non habemus ut caudices graves saxum super se ad speciem crearent. solidi aedificium. 

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.

Lapis hodiernus dies rursus cladding ex structura aedificii suspenditur, et componitur eodem modo quo ratio rainscreen metalli est. 

Vides, cladding lapis est a rainscreen cladding ratio et ratio habenda est ut talis. 

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

Cum ad tabulam clausuram figendam ad structuram fulciendam venit, duae praecipuae modi figendi sunt:

Undercut Anchors

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.

Quemadmodum fixiones sunt omnes in dorso tabulæ, hic modus est fixus prorsus secretus, nullae fixiones apparent.

Carve

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.

Celeritas et simplicitas institutionis ac copulatae cum eo quod tabulae non-sequenter institui possunt, hanc methodum quam latissime patet ratio cladding lapidea adhibet.

Utraeque modi institutionis sunt typice apertae-coniunctae, articulis tamen cum sigillo non migratorio demonstrans speciem aedificii traditionalis structurae praebere potest. 

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