Stone Cladding: The Pros and Cons of natural Stone

There are advantages and disadvantages of every building material dependant on your individual application. Here, we take a look at some of the pros and cons of natural stone cladding to help you decide if it’s a suitable material for your project.

The pros of natural stone cladding

• The natural, unrivalled beauty
• Its extreme durability and long lifespan
• The extensive range of stone types, colours and formats
• Complimentary to other materials such as concrete and timber
• Offers various finish options to suit applications and can therefore be used in a wide range of projects
• Provides a high level of insulation, which can therefore keep heating and cooling costs down
• Can be used for a variety of applications, indoors or out
• It is weather and fire resistant
• Can be scratch and abrasion resistant
• May increase the value of your home
• Easy to maintain long-term

The cons of natural stone cladding

• Requires a structural substrate, which can then add an extra cost
• Can be labour intensive and time-consuming to install
• A more expensive material than some other cladding products
• Needs to be sealed for protection
• The use of strong cleaning products may damage the surface
• Can trap moisture behind the material if poorly installed which therefore could damage the stone
• Best installed by a professional rather than a DIY project

As you can see, there are both advantages and disadvantages of natural stone cladding. The two main advantages driving people to choose natural stone cladding are its aesthetics and durability. Each piece has its own unique textures, colour tones and imperfections making no two stone feature walls the same. A quality natural stone wall will weather well and last many years to come.

The main disadvantage of the stone for some is its heavy nature demanding a structural substrate and in some cases, additional fixtures. Constructing a structural wall for the cladding to adhere to may not be feasible in every situation. This can also increase the cost and the installation time.

For more advice and inspiration about natural stone and feature walls, take a look at our Learning Library.