Stone Veneer Cladding

[m_struct]

A client would like 6in stone veneer cladding on a new story wood framed high-end residential job.

Is there is rule-of-thumb for how tall stone veneer can be stacked before a self angle is required for support? Note that stone veneer is supported laterally by extra heavy ties at 16" centers each way fixed back to the framing.

For shorter window openings, is it recommended to fix the shelf angle back to the wall framing or have to free wall framing, have it span the opening. The shelf angle would extended beyond the opening by say 8" and be supported for gravity by the stone below - similar to brick veneer.

 

[jjl317]

We do quite a bit of stone cladding work, and while I would love to be able to provide a generic answer, I think the correct answer is that it could vary greatly depending on a number of things.

Here in the US, there are several different groups that provide design guidance for stone design.

The Natural Stone Institute "Dimension Stone Design Manual" is a pretty comprehensive and free (I think) resource, that includes design information and details on many different stone applications.

And the Indiana Limestone Institute has a handbook (again, I believe free) that covers some generic stone design issue, plus specifics on limestones.

Hope this helps

 

[m_struct]

Thank you sending that through. It looks like those are proprietary stone veneer sheets.

I have heard various answers for max height. One saying 10' max is an industry standard, while the code limit is much higher. Another mentioned from his commercial experience, he tries to use few shelf angles as possible as the seem to get installer incorrectly.

My roof first floor height is about 9' and the roof 16 to 17 ft. To follow "the 10 ft rule" I was going to run a shelve angle around L2, but finding that it is challenging to resolve the moment from shelf angle eccentricity with 8" studs. If it is not required/recommended to limit the stack height to 10ft and 17ft is OK, then the shelf angle would not be required.

 

[XR250]

I imagine it would be hard to get the numbers to work out on the shelf angle with a wood structure.

 

[jayrod12]

Around here, a shelf angle/relief angle isn't required until you reach 11m of masonry typically. Obviously that depends on other factors but I don't see an issue going to 17 feet without an issue.

 

[masonrygeek]

The Natural Stone Institute (formerly the Building Stone Institute and the Marble Institute of America) has their design guide which covers this as jjl said. Here is the chapter on Vertical Services which states 20' is the height for most stacked stone:

https://pubs.naturalstoneinstitute.org/pub/2DE67591-E0D4-196E-0566-F134CCA32B13.

This is less than the typical height limitations for brick veneer over wood stud of 30'. Stone doesn't have the same expansion properties as clay brick so the need for a shelf angle isn't as great.

 

[dhengr]

M_struct:
Spec. a good quality tie, not the corrugated junk most contractors will try to pass off on you. And, for starters, measure the location of every one of the ties, to show them you mean business with the spacing. If it’s more than 16", it must be moved to be less than 16", it’s not o.k. at 24" or 30". Be sure they are properly attached to a proper sub-strate. Regarding unsupported height and the in-plane integrity of the stone veneer, keep in mind that this wall veneer system does not have the relatively uniform mass of brick or conc. blk. which generally has fully bedded joints, consistency and uniformity of shape, in terms of building a stable, consistent panel of masonry. Given the shape of the stones, and assuming the back is fairly flat, what is the average thickness of the solid mortared wall? How does this compare with a full bedded brick veneer?