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marcalusl

natural stone veneer advice

marcalusl
last year

Hello all. I have read many helpful discussions here and could use some advice. Our current home will be renovated, the brick removed and most of the front “porch” removed. We are debating:
1)adding stone along the bottom across the house As seen in the rendering (but lower than drawn) or

  1. just doing Hardie siding in Cobblestone all the way down and only doing stone for the stairs and porch that will be left.

Siding will be cobble stone hardie siding. Included is also a photo of the possible natural stone veneer. My concern is our home is very wide with not much dimension and the stone may be a bit much. Brick is also an option for just the front steps. Thank you

Comments (27)

  • apple_pie_order
    last year

    The stone will be fine. Check the measurements on your elevation drawing carefully- if the shutters are not drawn to scale correctly, more important things may not be correct.

  • millworkman
    last year

    Will the stone at the foundation only be on the front or all the way around the home?

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    My husband wants the stone at the driveway by the garages, so because of that we will probably go along the sides but maybe not the back.

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    I’m having A hard time picturing both. This is a big decision

  • millworkman
    last year

    "so because of that we will probably go along the sides but maybe not the back"


    To look correct and like it was by design it really needs to be on all 4 sides other wise it is obviously just lipstick.

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Millworkman yes I agree. Thank you for your input. and that’s totally fine. My main concern is how it will look in the front in general because it is such a wide,
    Plain house with not much else going on. Or if we should just go down all the way with siding. Thank you!

  • decoenthusiaste
    last year

    I don't mind the stone, but the redesign looks a bit wonky to me. The proportions don't seem like they'll work on the home and you're removing one big gable in the center to add another one on the left side. I don't get the double portico porch unless the roof on the right is just to fill in that empty space right of your front door. It looks crowded between the windows. Are the dormers because you're adding livable space in the attic, or are they just decorative?

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    last year
    last modified: last year

    The shutters are incorrectly sized because of the design of the canopy




    I have removed the additional gable from the front of the house.


  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Thank you very much!

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    last year
    last modified: last year

    marcalusi, I'm not sure my elevations meet the criteria you had with remodeling your home. Were you wanting that third floor or is that attic? I'm not sure the traditional gable dormers are right on this remodel. Did you consider shed dormers for the house?


  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Yes it will be a fully functioning attic with living space. The roof level will be raised

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    last year

    There is a lot more space when shed dormers are used instead of gable dormers.



  • Snaggy
    last year

    Ditch the shutters !

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Thank you I don’t think we’re planning on doing shutters it just happens to be on the drawing

  • Jennifer K
    last year

    The stone is handsome and will anchor the house nicely. Doing it all siding would be dull and the house would feel less rooted.


    Btw, it really does make a significant difference when you put stone all the way around your foundation as though your foundation were built of stone versus decorating parts of your foundation with stone. One looks real and the other looks like you ran out of cash.

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Jennifer thank you!! Do you think the size of the bottom windows will look ok still with the stone? I appreciate your answer.

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Thank you for taking the time to do this and explain this

  • Jennifer K
    last year

    I like what palimsest has done. I'd widen the porch/steps so that each side was the same distance from the nearest window. I might even go with a flat porch roof instead of a gable.


    And yes, I think the windows and stone will be fine together, particularly if you keep the stone at foundation level as palimsest has illustrated.

  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    I like it as well. Unfortunately I am not sure how much we have for wiggle room for the door because the home is a bi level and that is where the landing is where the stairs go up and down inside and it can’t be moved. But I will speak to them about the porch outside. Whoever built the house made it extremely unsymmetrical as you can see in the first photo of what it currently looks like. Thank you!!

  • palimpsest
    last year

    I did not move the door or any window openings.

  • palimpsest
    last year

    Here it is with the portico widened leaving the door asymmetrically placed, but an oculus window added next to the door for balance. And the shutters have been removed.

    I am not sure centering the portico really adds anything, I think balancing things together even if they are asymmetrical works fine.


  • palimpsest
    last year

    Obviously very old houses but note the asymmetrical balance




  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Yes! Thank you a very good point. We had the left side of the roof with that peak because that will be a bedroom. We didn’t consider dormers all the way across. Thank you! I appreciate your time and knowledge more than you know!

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Here is the minor adjustment of the porch, keeping the front gable, eliminating the shutters & getting rid of the eyebrow arched windows in the dormers.


    I changed the height of the gable on the second image.



  • marcalusl
    Original Author
    last year

    Thank you beverlyFLADeziner!! I truly appreciate your time you took to do that for me.

  • palimpsest
    last year

    Don't pay attention to the measurements but do pay attention to the proportion. On your style of house the windows should essentially take up the entire face of the dormer except for the peak.