DIY External facade stone cladding

SydneyElle · Oct 04, 2023 8:41 am

Has anyone done or seen anyone do their own external feature wall in Z-panel stone cladding or interlocking stone cladding? Need to do about 10 sqm and feel like we could do it ourselves.

If anyone has recommendations on where to buy interlocking panels also appreciated. Wanting sandstone, beige, light colors.

Something like this. https://tilelane.com.au/products/valais-teide-sand-333x650-interlocking-porcelain-wall-feature-tile

ponzutwo · Oct 04, 2023 10:25 am

SydneyElle

Has anyone done or seen anyone do their own external feature wall in Z-panel stone cladding or interlocking stone cladding? Need to do about 10 sqm and feel like we could do it ourselves.

If anyone has recommendations on where to buy interlocking panels also appreciated. Wanting sandstone, beige, light colors.

Something like this. https://tilelane.com.au/products/valais-teide-sand-333x650-interlocking-porcelain-wall-feature-tile

this is something you can easily take on yourself. Anything manufactured stone, or z panel or other panel types are made for ease of installation. Much simpler than say building a deck.

Couple of things to consider

1. Z panels or other panel types do have visible joints. Even if you grout them, the consistent spacing and usually the way corners connect make it obvious it’s a panel product. Personally, I think this cheapens the look and the visible joins bother me immensely. However, my partner doesn’t see it, or it doesn’t bother her one bit.

2. Manufactured stone often comes in single pieces that have been molded from real stone but is lighter (still heavy though). In my view it gives a superior finish of the two, and some manufactured stone is so convincing, often people have a hard time accepting that its manufactured. There are varying degrees of quality, just like with Z panels etc.

3. The installation process can vary between products based on who the manufacturer is or based on the weight of the product. Make sure you look at the installation documentation before committing to a specific product as the surface preparation may ad additional costs that were not considered. Follow the directions.

4. There is an alternative installation as well that uses expanded metal lath that has a much better longevity if you are working a surface that is likely to move/settle etc or outdoors where the install will be exposed to changing conditions. The Americans and Canadians use it as standard. This adds an additional cost to the installation, but relative to having to fix the installation down the track, is fairly cheap.

5. Z panels can come made from manufactured stone or from real stone pieces. Pay attention to what you’re buying. If you go the manufactured route for Z panel or individual pieces, there will be repeats and you don’t want to put them next to each other or even close together. Once you see the repeat, you can’t unsee It and it will probably bother you forever.

6. Buy a good quality product. Some cheap looking and nasty products are priced the same or even or than a higher quality product. Some of the manufactured stuff is made in Australia and the price is comparable to terrible z panel Chinese imports. The difference is someone is being greedy on making a higher margin.

7. Go look at the products physically. Ideally what they look like on a board or a wall. Not by sample pieces sent to you in in photos. Neither of those really give you a sense of how it looks really. Photos of an install are better than sample pieces due to scale, but Ive seen products that look great on a wall in a photo, but visiting that installation from the photo look terrible.
In any case. Really fun project to do yourself. Don’t skimp on the preparation and costing. And make sure you have all the right tools and products before you start, then the whole thing goes together like lego.

Good luck 😊

SydneyElle · Oct 04, 2023 10:37 am

Thank you so much. That is REALLY helpful

Regarding your point 2. is this when you need to put each piece on the wal one by one like a jigsaw puzzle?

And re point 5 - the patterns repeating - does that mean that not every piece is the same but each piece in a box is different but each box of pieces is the same, hence the repeating pattern. And your suggestion is to lay them randomly.

My feature wall is around a window. So it will not be a long wall as such. I have attached my own mock-up in Canva with Z and an individual piece look, but you can get the idea. Would you suggest Z or individual pieces for this area? I prefer the individual stone look but not sure how difficult it would be and if it would cost more?

Also, do you know how do you end the wall at the edge of the house?

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ponzutwo · Oct 04, 2023 11:11 am

SydneyElle

Thank you so much. That is REALLY helpful

Regarding your point 2. is this when you need to put each piece on the wal one by one like a jigsaw puzzle?

And re point 5 - the patterns repeating - does that mean that not every piece is the same but each piece in a box is different but each box of pieces is the same, hence the repeating pattern. And your suggestion is to lay them randomly.

My feature wall is around a window. So it will not be a long wall as such. I have attached my own mock-up in Canva with Z and an individual piece look, but you can get the idea. Would you suggest Z or individual pieces for this area? I prefer the individual stone look but not sure how difficult it would be and if it would cost more?

Also, do you know how do you end the wall at the edge of the house?

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Re my second point – yes exactly. And often it may take additional time if the manufacturer recommends no more than X meters height before stacking more on. The product documentation will stipulate. This may be true for some heavier real stone z panels too.

Re point 5 –Depends on the quality of the product. Some will have higher variability than others. Z panel made from real stone will have infinite variability except for the panel shape. If its manufactured, depending on quality, every z panel may be the same or there may be high variability. When you have high variability, it still pays to dry fit the next piece and eyeball it to make sure you’re not placing identical pieces next to each other. That’s part of the reason I recommend you se a physical install of the product you’re considering. Its there you get a good feel for whether there is good variability or not. Of ten marketing material are taken at an angle of the big installs and you can’t see the repeats, an then they will show you a single panel front on which you make your purchasing decision. The way I see it is if you are going to put the effort in, take some extra time to source the installs and make sure you’re not wasting your time.

My preference is always going to be for single piece over Z panels because I cant not see the panel shape when its up. It really bothers me. It doesn’t matter how good the install is, I see it immediately. Its even more obvious when you join z panels around corners. If you interlock your fingers like as If you were praying, that’s the effect you get. Its really obvious even with natural stone z panels due to the shape. So the panel can look good, but then the aesthetic of the corner join kills it IMO. SOME better quality z panel products have separate corner pieces that address this issue somewhat and give you a proper “L” shaped piece, but costs climb quickly for that type too. Something to consider. I strongly advise to view that sort of install before committing to it. You may hate it or not care. Its good to know either way.

As to cost – comparing a good quality z panel to a good quality single piece manufactured stone is comparable within +/- $10 per square meter for a large population of the products out there. There are some outliers that are exceptionally more expensive, however. The biggest factor in costs comes from the install. A stone mason or tiler installing z panel will get it up quicker than individual stones and the price will reflect that. However, if you are doing it yourself, the only factor for you is more time to do the job. But for a better finish and (in my opinion) a better product, its time well spent. Its not overly difficult. Obviously more so than z panel, but there are many many videos of installs on youtube that should give you context on what the process looks like. If youre prepped well, its just like adult sized lego 😊

With regards to ending a wall – its normal to do a reveal on an outside corner. So go around the corner 30-60 cm and you can finish it with an angle that will provide a nice clean edge, but the work will sit proud of the rest of the wall. That doesn’t bother some people – again its something I cant cope with (lol). I prefer to take it to the inside corner and finish it butting up against the next wall. That gives the impression of a full stone section than just a cladding of the face. Looking at your mock up, it looks like that part of the house juts out? If it was me, I’d wrap that entire section. Again this is a personal preference but something to consider if you haven’t already or unfamiliar with the finish.