Stone Cladding - An Expensive Mistake - TrustNews Spring 1988
This is the title of a leaflet published by the London Borough of Hackney. Although no member of the Trust would dream of applying "sticky stone" to his or her house, the following extracts from the leaflet may be helpful to those who would like to dissuade others from taking this course. There is already a sprinkling of stone clad dwellings in the City.
...The purpose of this leaflet is to warn potential customers about certain things that the stone cladding firms won't tell you.
It is a mistake to think that stone cladding adds to the value of a property. It can in fact devalue a house and make it harder to sell. Potential buyers might think that the artifical stone is hiding structural or other defects.
Not everyone thinks that stone cladding looks nice and this could be a problem. A stone house clad can stick out like a 'sore thumb', and neighbours may be upset by the disregard to the character of their properties and street. Remember, when selling a stone clad property you are trying to appeal to a very small section of the buying market.
Stone cladding is expensive to install, the average cost being between £1,500-£2,000. If you have that amount of money to spend on improving your property why not consider other ways to make it individual and add to its natural character.
If the brickwork and pointing is sound, the best treatment is the simplest - that is, cleaning it down, which is relatively cheap and a lot quicker than the lengthy stone cladding process.
Cladding is not always carried out by reputable contractors. There are many 'Cowboy' firms operating, they can cause damage and their guarantees could be suspect. Remember, all too often salesmen are only interested in selling and their commission, not the well being or value of a property.
Once installed, stone cladding is very hard to remove and to do so could cause damage to the original fabric of the building. Repairs can be very expensive. In contrast, some firms fix the cladding by using adhesive or mortar only. This is an inadequate method and there have been cases of stone panels falling off without warning.
Damp and condensation often occur when walls are stone clad, because the bricks cannot 'breathe'. water can enter the Joints, seep behind the artificial stone and become trapped. Eventually it will penetrate through the original wall. In winter ice forms and the pressure of expansion forces off the artifical stones. Once again, a very expensive problem to remedy, so, as you can see, stone cladding can cost more than you ever imagined....