How to Lay Out Stone Veneer Corners
- 1). Install moisture-barrier and corrosion-resistant metal lath, if necessary, according to the stone veneer manufacturer's recommendations. If metal lath is applied to a wall, wrap it around corners, overlapping the inside and outside of each corner at least 16 inches in both directions.
- 2). Lay out stone veneer corner and flat pieces on a clean area of the ground near the wall. Select and mix pieces from different boxes to blend a variety of colors, sizes, shapes, textures and thicknesses. Trim or shape each piece to obtain the desired length or profile, as needed, using a saw and grinder while wearing safety glasses and gloves.
- 3). Miter-cut flat pieces onsite to custom create outside corners that are not right angles using the miter saw and fine-tuning as needed with a grinder. Similarly, cut inside corner pieces with a miter saw to form the desired inside angle, or butt-joint the two veneer pieces together at the inside corner and fill gaps with pigmented mortar.
- 4). Mix thinset mortar. Apply scratch coat to the wall subsurface with a masonry trowel, covering the entire surface and scoring horizontally with the notched trowel. Apply a ½-inch thick, even layer of mortar to the back of each stone veneer piece with a masonry trowel, covering the entire back face and forcing mortar into any depressions or voids. Spray the scratch coat surface and the back of veneer pieces lightly with water to reduce their initial rate of mortar absorption.
- 5). Apply corner pieces first, starting at the bottom and stacking vertically upward, using a level to ensure that each layer is flat. Place one corner piece, then two or three flat veneer pieces of differing heights, then another corner piece. Corner pieces have a short- and long-end return. Alternate short-end returns of the corner pieces in opposite directions in order to avoid a zipper effect or a vertical jagged line.
- 6). Press each piece firmly into place on the wall surface, squeezing mortar out around all edges, wiggling while pressing to secure the bond and wiping away excess mortar with the trowel. Fill voids along exposed edges, smoothing mortar around the stone veneer perimeters with a striking tool. Fill the grout bag with mortar, cut a hole in the bag and apply a thin bead to the edges of previously installed adjacent pieces.
