I want to re-side my house. I was going to put in a stone face rather than siding. I was planning to use cement board and cut stone to give it the look of stacked stone. Is this a good base for this purpose?
That should work, I believe you can also use the wire lath typically put up as a starting point for stucco siding as well. May need to coat that with a scratch coat if the facade is heavy natural stone but if the lighter cultured stone, it may go up with one layer of mortar.
Most people just use 30-pound felt, staple up chicken wire, and a mud bed, setting the faux rocks in like tile, and going back and tuckpointing afterward. IIRC, you do need some sort of small ledge lagged to the wall at the bottom, to catch some of the weight, at least until the mortar sets up. Can't really see how the cement board would gain you anything, since nobody is standing on the wall. Big thing is that the mortar bed has to be tied to wall, and resistant to cracking, hence the chicken wire. Saw an interesting thing at home show- concrete siding, looking like brick or masonry, with the nails for each course hidden by the course above. No mortar or grout needed. Be good for a house without a brick ledge.
aem sends....
The main thing I am hoping to gain is a solid watertight base, like using cement board in a shower stall. I would probably install it the same as I would the wall in a shower.
You don't happen to remember what show it was that had the concrete siding, do you? I'd be interested in that. It sounds like it might be an easier and faster way to do this.
This was a small-town in person home show at the civic center, not a TV show. I imagine Google or your nearest concrete specialty items dealer can find them. Picture a row of thin fake brick, with a row of tabs at the top with nail holes, and a notch along the bottom to make space for the tabs of the row below. Looked to be maybe 2 inches thick?
aem sends....
If this is a manufactured product I'd follow the manufacture's instructions to avoid future warranty issues.
Just went through this with Owens Corning. Cement board was not their recommend method.
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