At Coverings 2024, we honored 21 outstanding projects that demonstrated spectacular craftsmanship and creativity in the use of tile and stone. This week we’re spotlighting the 2024 CID Award winner for Residential Stone Installation: Large Budget.
Project: Residential Use of Pennsylvania Sandstone
Installer: Russell Stone Products
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
The homeowners wanted a product that would create an elegant exterior facade and blend in with the established area surroundings. The most challenging part of the project was fitting the home on a very small piece of property sitting in an old established residential area in Pittsburgh.
There was no leeway at either side of the property to use forklifts and other lifting mechanisms to help lift and place the stones. The stone used weighed approximately 150 lb. a square foot. The main challenge was the manual labor that was needed to set the larger stones in place. Most of the trimming had to be done by hand to find the perfect fit.
Textroflash was used at all bases of the house and garage right above finish grade level. The round weep tubes with insect screens were used to prevent infestation. Cotton ropes were placed at cavity ends to help remove moisture from the cavity. The termination bar was used at the top of the flashing to hold the flashing tight to the zip wall boards.
Flexible dovetail ties were used on the vertical wooden studs to secure the anchors and the veneer stones. Specialty anchors of stainless steel were made to secure some of the stones. The mortar trap was placed at the top of the installed flashing in the air space cavity between the wall board and the back of the sandstone to prevent the mortar from clogging up the base of the flashing and weep tubes.
Do you have a recently completed project that features innovative design and installation of tile & stone? Consider entering it into the 2025 CID Awards – the portal opens this fall!
