Stone where you actually sit
Outdoor kitchens, seat walls, fire pits and retaining-wall faces: small areas, close up, where the stone has to look right from a chair.
Stone Veneer for Outdoor Kitchens, Patios and Retaining Walls
Outdoor stone is seen from 3 feet away, at eye level, by people sitting down. A grill island, a seat wall around a fire pit, the face of a retaining wall or the back of an outdoor bar is where texture and color matter most and where a sample board pays for itself. It is also one of the smaller stone jobs, which is why an island and a seat wall are often ordered together to reach the 100-square-foot minimum in one color.
What suits the backyard
Tumbled with a mortar joint is the classic patio stone: softened edges, worn faces, and the Suede or Snow Charcoal colors hide grease and weather well. Coastal gives a rubble wall for a garden or a fire pit. Ashlar in Desert Cream is the quiet choice for a formal terrace. For a modern kitchen with a concrete counter, Strip Ledge or 3" Strip Ledge keeps the lines straight.
Outdoor kitchens and islands
Build the island from concrete block or a steel-stud frame with cement board, wrap framed cores with a weather barrier and lath, scratch coat, and set the stone. Set corners first at every vertical edge. Keep the stone 2 inches above the patio slab and slope the counter so water sheds away from the face. Grease is the enemy; a breathable sealer makes cleanup easier.
Retaining and seat walls
Veneer goes on the face of a structural wall, not instead of one. Build the wall in block or poured concrete with drainage behind it, waterproof the back, then face the front and cap the top with a sill or cap stone that overhangs. Keep the stone above grade at the base. Seat walls are usually 18 to 20 inches high with a smooth cap.
Ordering for the yard
Measure each face in square feet and each outside corner in linear feet, add 10 percent, and order from one run so the island and the wall match. Made to order in Lenexa in 2 to 4 weeks. Backyard quantities fit in a pickup. Ben answers homeowner questions at 913-345-8888.
Installed
Tumbled, San Francisco
Browns with a raked joint
Tumbled, Snow Silver
Light, softened stone
Dimensional, Rushmore
Gray cut stone
Coursed stone, tan
Low courses for a terrace
Questions people ask
Can stone veneer face a retaining wall?
Yes, on the exposed face of a structural block or concrete wall that has drainage and waterproofing behind it. The veneer is the finish, not the structure.
Will grill heat damage the stone?
Manufactured stone is cement-based and does not burn. Keep the grill insert clearances the maker specifies and use a non-combustible core around the grill.
Does outdoor stone need sealing?
Not for durability. A breathable sealer makes grease and drink stains easier to clean on an island or a bar; test it on a sample first because some sealers darken the color.
Can I use it around a pool?
Yes for walls, planters and an outdoor kitchen. Keep it off the pool deck surface itself and away from salt water splash where possible; rinse it like any masonry.
How much stone does an outdoor kitchen island take?
A 10-foot by 3-foot island 36 inches high is about 78 square feet of faces plus 12 linear feet of corners, before the 10 percent. Add a seat wall and you are above the 100-square-foot minimum.
Talk to a person at the plant
Ben answers homeowner questions, Steve handles commercial projects. Call 913-345-8888, Monday through Friday, or send the wall size and we call you back.