Slim & Light Stone Wall Panels

Natural Stone

Natural stone has a richness of texture and color that adds a sense of timeless elegance to any indoor or outdoor living space. Guaranteeing durability and versatility, natural stone products can be used to create an integrated look of enduring style. Norstone Rock Panels adhere to the following characteristics:

Norstone Ledgestone Panels are made from 100% natural stone and create a 3 dimensional stacked stone veneer look.
The Ochre Blend is a Quartzite based sedimentary stone.
The Charcoal, White, and Ivory Rock Panels are all pure Quartz.

Stone Veneer

While natural stone might be a superior building material, the thickness and subsequent weight of natural stone building products poses challenges in the construction of projects both big and small. The advent and advancement of stone veneers over the past several decades has allowed for natural stone to be used on projects that were previously impossible or cost prohibitive before by replacing traditional full bed masonry stone, which would be 4” thick or thicker, with cut veneer, some as thin as .5”. Stone veneer allows the inherent beauty of natural stone to shine through on the products, whether that's unique marbling or veining patterns or the naturally cleft texture that can't be replicated in a manufactured stone veneer, while cutting a significant amount of weight per square foot of stone. Thinner, products allow for for more production yield out of the stone quarries, ensuring that our natural resources are maximized. Thinner also means lighter when it comes to stone, which allows for more efficient transport of stone products around the world, as well as quicker and easier installation of stone veneers using cement based setting materials and other types of adhesives as compared to the mechanical anchoring and fastening systems required for traditional full bed stone.

Stone Veneer Panels

Expanding on the concept of stone veneer is the advent of stone veneer panel systems which gained a lot of momentum and market share in the early 2000s. To that point, stone veneer was mainly loose pieces of natural stone that had been split or cut into thin veneers that were lightweight and therefore easier to work with and install than traditional full bed stone. While thin stone veneer had a lot of advantages over traditional full bed stone, the installation still required a great deal of skill. The installer needed to be deliberate about where each stone was going, and constantly chip away at pieces to get them to fit together nice and tight. The results by a good installer are beautiful, but it was still a slow process performed by highly skilled craftsmen, which equaled up to a lot of cost for an installation.

In an ever increasing push to expand the potential stone veneer market, manufacturers started to create early versions of stone veneer panels, where individual stones were glued together into a unit which could then be installed more similar to a tile than traditional stone. Norstone was an early pioneer in that market and has had the benefit of time in perfecting our stone veneer panel system. Here are a few things that set Norstone Panels apart:

A. We use a marine grade epoxy instead of a lower quality and less expensive PVA based glue to adhere the individual stones of our panels together. This allows for less damage in transit and less panels breaking apart in a wet saw during cutting and installation. Go ahead and drop a panel on a concrete floor and you'll see that the stone will often break apart before the epoxy adhesive does.
B. We use highly calibrated saws, jigs, and production techniques to ensure our product stays true to its dimensions. Consistent dimensions allow for the product to be installed easily, and are the basis to what allow manufacturers like us to leverage the panel concept.
C. We specifically source and quarry our stone for the purposes of making panels, we don't use the off cuts or waste of other stone processes to make our products. This might add a little upfront cost to the product, but it does ensure that we have good stone that is structurally strong and consistent from a batch and coloration standpoint.
D. All of our products were created by designers. At Norstone, we're focused on not just making stone veneer panels that are easy to install, we want to make panels that add beauty to the space they are installed in.

Applications

Beautifully textured with just a hint of roughness, these natural stone Rock Panels can be used to create innovative designs for any residential or commercial application. With their clean, simple and aesthetically pleasing lines, Norstone Rock Panels can transform a plain, uninspiring wall into a stunning feature wall, providing the simple yet defined geometry of a traditional stacked stone wall.

Norstone Rock Panels are ideal for:
Interior or Exterior Applications, complimenting well with stainless steel, glass and wood / timber.
Water features, including pools and spas.
Residential Projects, including feature walls, kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces, backsplashes & showers.
Commercial Applications, including office, retail, restaurant / bar, hotels, casinos, hospitality and medical builds outs.

For more detailed installation instructions, please visit our installation guide.

Installation

One of the main benefits of Norstone Rock Panels is the ease with which they can be installed. The panel system provides for rapid installation over prepared cementitious surfaces, such as cement board, brick / block, or a traditional lathe and scratch coat using a polymer modified tile thinset. Rock Panels are ideally cut on a tile wet saw and are highly calibrated, allowing the installer to butt-join individual units together, thus eliminating the need to grout or point mortar between individual pieces or units. Here are the main points to highlight for any stone veneer installation:

A. Start with prepared cementious substrate such as cement board for most interior applications, or brick, block, or a masonry lathe and scratch coat for exterior applications. Drywall is not a suitable substrate for installing stone veneer on as it is not designed to support the weight and the outer paper layer of the drywall that the panels get attached to can fail against the weight over time.
B. Address waterproofing and other climactic conditions of the installation, such as freeze / thaw vulnerability through the use of either a mesh or fluid applied liquid membrane on the substrate. Norstone stone veneer panels can be used in a variety of different type of applications ranging from water features like pools and spas, to exterior facades in places ranging from Alaska to the Caribbean if the right setting materials are used. Contact us with any questions on your specific project.
C. Adhere the stone panel using a polymer modified thinset that meets or exceeds ANSI 118.4 and 118.11 adhesion standards. Using mastic adhesive, which is commonly premixed and available at the same places as thinset is a common mistake. Mastic is organic based and can lose its bond strength when exposed to moisture and should absolutely not be used to install Norstone Stone Veneer Panels.
D. When appropriate, seal the stone veneer after its installed. Common reasons to seal stone veneer is if its being used in an exterior project or is going to be subject to water, such as in a water feature or pool. A quality water based natural stone sealer that is designed to penetrate the surface of the stone is recommended. Different types of sealers are made to achieve various results, including darkening or enriching the color of the stone, so always be sure to test the results of a sealer on an off cut prior to applying. Note that acid should not be used to clean Norstone products, for instructions on how to maintain or clean our products, please contact your local representative or refer to our installation guide.

The beauty of the Rock Panel lies in its simplicity, and whether part of a large scale commercial application, or a small residential project, all levels of installers will find the Rock Panel quick and easy to install and a pleasure to work with.

Natural Stone Sealer

A natural stone sealer can be applied depending on the characteristics of the application or to achieve a desired look or finish.

Pricing & Availability

Norstone's Stacked Stone Veneer Rock Panel Range is available nationwide.

Wherever you might be located, Norstone can be purchased either manufacturer-direct from our offices or via a trained distributor in your local area. Norstone products are consistently kept In Stock either in distributor warehouses around the country or in one of our national distribution hubs. This means shorter lead-times for most projects.

To be connected to a distributor or for help with your project directly, we encourage you to give us a call. You can reach your regional office by calling us at 1 (877) 210 9248, or please connect with us via our contact form.