Natural stone is a highly desired construction material, but one that can empty the wallet with high labor and shipping costs. Cultured Stone® has been used for over thirty years and is much improved from its early days. Even with close examination, today's manufactured stone, made from concrete, can be very difficult to tell apart from natural stone. Except for the lack of weight and sans the hole in your pocket, cultured stone veneer products will fool the most discerning eye and can be used to create many exciting projects in and around your home.

Cultured Stone® is basically concrete mixed with aggregate and color pigments and shaped in special, detailed, molds to produce a real stone look and feel. Quality stone veneer products are, therefore, durable and made with solid color to avoid discoloration over their long service span. Maintain and clean artificial stone with common sense and these tips, and your Cultured Stone® projects will outlast you.

Achieve a natural stone look at a fraction of the price with Cultured Stone®. Some manufactured stone companies will customize colors as well to suit your special individual tastes. Artificial brick, pavers, cobblestone and wall cap stones are some of the other innovative products to make your project spectacular.

Stone veneer manufacturers can provide you with man-made stone that looks real. I have been personally amazed by the realistic natural stone look of some of these manufactured stone products.

Installing Cultured Stone® is fairly simple. Only basic tools are needed with mortar, and galvanized mesh and nails if your manufactured stone project is an exterior one. Have a mason build a test panel of your chosen stone veneer to see in advance the overall look, and follow these guidelines for a sensational real stone look from artificial stone.