One of the areas in my home that truely needs improvement is the fireplace area. Our fireplace is caddy cornered in our living room and is the first thing that meets your eye when walking through the front door. The solid wood mantel that surrounds the fireplace is beautiful; however, the white 12x12 kitchen tiles the builder decided to surround the area with is anything but beautiful.
One day, my husband and I were walking through Lowe’s and came across a product called Airstone. The stone veneer replicates a natural stone look while weighing approximately 75 percent less than real stone. Airstone can be used indoors or outdoors and doesn’t require any fancy tools. To complete a project using Airstone, you will simply need the product, the product adhesive, a putty knife and hacksaw.
The stone veneer is available in three different color choices, and adheres to almost any surface. A quick Google search will show the many creative ways people have chosen to use this product. I knew immediately this is what I wanted to use on my fireplace.
After figuring out the amount of Airstone needed for the space, (refer to the website for how many boxes of Airstone will be needed) we headed back to Lowes’ to buy the materials for our newest project. Before starting, we spent a couple of hours researching the ways other people
had used the stone veneer.
We started at the top of the fireplace and worked our way down. You quickly figure out a groove; however, I do recommend laying out the pattern of colors you like before putting them in place. From left to right, we slowly added the adhesive and laid the stone veneer in place. Once we finished the top portion, we used scrap wood as a wedge to prevent the stone from sliding down.
I have seen where other people went from the bottom up, but most likely, the last line will need to be trimmed to fit the width. I did not like the thought of the top line being thinner. To me, it seems if you are going to need to trim the width of the stone, then it would be more attractive for that stone to be at the bottom. If you start from the bottom up then you should not have to worry about anything sliding.
After we applied a stone, one of us would apply pressure while the other would prepare the next one. It seemed easiest to apply the adhesive straight to the stone rather than the surface we were covering.
Along the way, we learned the adhesive covers a large area. You can easily use too much and it will spill through the stones. Nevertheless, the adhesive is very easy to clean up while it is wet. If you do miss some and notice it after it has dried, wet the area thoroughly for about ten minutes and scrub it with a toothbrush.
The stones can break if you are not careful. We broke a couple of ours, but you could not tell after we put them up. If you go from top to bottom, make sure you use a wedge underneath as you work your way down to prevent sliding.
Make sure you to visit the Airstone website for further information. There you will find exactly which surfaces Airstone is compatible with, and an easy guide to figure out how much you will need. Airstone is hands-down, a great way to add coziness to your fireplace area without huge cost.
Email me and let you know what you think, or show me your project pictures.
Source: www.Airstone.com