Stone veneer installation in Huntsville AL - stone over a sound wall that stays dry
Bare block, a dated front or a plain chimney? We check the wall first, then put up stone over layers built to keep water out.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Is stone veneer a good fit for your Huntsville house?
Stone veneer installation in Huntsville puts a thin, lightweight facing on an existing wall. The facing is cast from cement and aggregate to look like natural stone. It doesn't hold up any part of your house, so you get the look of stone on a foundation, chimney or front wall without building a stone wall.
Most calls start with a wall you're tired of looking at, like a band of bare foundation block, a plain chimney or a new outdoor kitchen that needs a face. The price moves with the square footage, the stone you pick, how many corners and openings need cutting around, and above all whether the wall needs repair before any stone goes on. The schedule turns on that same repair, any permit or flood review, a required cure wait between layers and, for a tall wall, a design step first. When I come out, I follow up with a written quote, and that's where your own figure comes from.
How do you know a wall is ready for stone, or needs help first?
Bare block above the ground
A strip of gray block between your siding or brick and the dirt is the most common reason people call, and usually it just needs a finished face. If we find cracks or loose block, though, that gets fixed before any stone goes up, because covering it buries the problem where you can't keep an eye on it.
Cracks or crumbling mortar
Stair-step cracks in block or brick, or mortar that rubs out under your finger, mean the wall isn't sound yet. Stone hung on a moving wall can crack or pull loose with it, and tearing off veneer to fix the wall later costs more than fixing it first.
Stains or loose pieces on old veneer
Dark streaks, white powder or stones that rock in place on veneer you already have usually point to water getting in behind it. The longer that goes on, the more of the framing or sheathing behind it can rot, and then a stone job turns into a carpentry job too.
How we handle stone veneer installation
Before I quote veneer, I check the wall it's going on, because stone over a bad wall only hides the problem. Once the wall is sound, our crew builds up the layers behind the stone, and those get the most care, since water getting in back there is what ruins veneer. A lath maker's bulletin says stone makers require building paper or felt over the framing or sheathing, then metal lath, then a scratch coat, which is a rough first coat of mortar the stone grabs onto. We put those on in stages and keep the paper whole and lapped, each strip overlapping the one below, so water runs down and out. Then our masons set the stone, cut pieces to fit around corners, windows and trim, fill the joints and clean the face and the site before we leave.
Sometimes the wall underneath needs more than patching, and that becomes its own job first. A cracked or failing block wall may need rebuilding through our concrete block walls work. If a section of the foundation itself has to come out and go back in, that's foundation block wall installation. Doing it in that order costs more up front, but it's the only way I'll put stone on a wall.
Foundation and skirt walls
This suits a house with a band of bare block along the bottom, because a short run of stone finishes the look for less than facing a whole wall. The bottom edge needs the most thought here, since it sits closest to wet ground.
Full or accent walls over framing
This is for a front wall, gable or entry framed in wood, where the stone goes over sheathing with the full set of layers behind it. It's the biggest change to how your house looks from the street, and it's where getting those water layers right matters most.
Chimneys, columns and kitchens
Chimney chases, porch columns and outdoor kitchen bases have a lot of corners, so expect more cut pieces and corner stones, which raise the cost per square foot. They're worth it when you want the stone to look solid from every side.
Get a written estimate for your stone veneer
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come to your property, look at the wall and follow up with a free written estimate. No pressure, no obligation.
- Based in
- Huntsville, AL 35801
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about stone veneer in Huntsville?
Here's how a veneer job goes from your first call to the finished wall, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call or send us a note
Call (256) 417-4326 or use the form, and we'll set a time to look at the wall. If you can, have the wall's rough square footage and a few photos handy.
I look the wall over
I come out, check the wall, take photos and tell you plainly what I see, including any repair it needs before stone. Then you get a written estimate, so you know what the job costs and what's in it before you decide anything.
We handle permits, then build
If you go ahead, I check the permit and historic district steps with the office that covers your address. Our crew lead then runs the work with our masons, including the cure wait before the stone goes up.
We walk the finished wall
When the stone is up and the site is cleaned, I walk the job with you. You see the finished wall up close with the person who quoted it.
Why Huntsville homeowners call Capstone for stone veneer
I do every estimate myself
I come out to every estimate myself, and our crew lead runs the work on site with our masons. You hear the plan from the person who answers for it, not from a salesperson who won't see the job again.
Sold the stone, then laid it
I sold brick, block and stone for years, then learned the trade on crews around Huntsville before starting this business in 2021. Behind the counter I saw which veneer jobs failed, and the cause was usually what sat behind the stone.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on every job we take. If something goes wrong on site, your house isn't the one left carrying the cost.
If there's a wall you've been thinking about covering, call (256) 417-4326 or send us a note and I'll come take a look.
Stone veneer and the wall work around it in Huntsville
Inside Huntsville, building permits come from the city's Inspection Department, and repairs and alterations call for a completed permit application with a full cost breakdown of materials and labor. We check with the city or county office that covers your address before work starts and handle the permit when your job needs one. For a minor alteration with no plan review, the city can issue a walk-in permit. If your lot is in a FEMA flood hazard area, the application has to go in person, and the city issues a Flood Development Permit before any other approval, so we put that first on the schedule. The state matters on bigger jobs too. Alabama's Home Builders Licensure Board counts remodeling or repair on a home over $10,000, labor and materials together, as residential Home Builder work unless the job falls outside the board's reach. On top of that, anyone working inside city limits needs a city business license before starting.
Around Huntsville, and on jobs in Madison and Decatur, a lot of veneer calls are for brick homes with a band of bare foundation block, or for a new column or outdoor kitchen that needs a finished face. Clay soil here holds water against the bottom of a wall, so we pay close attention to where the stone stops above the ground and how water gets out at the base.
Questions about stone veneer in Huntsville
What kind of wall can stone veneer go over in Huntsville?
Manufactured stone veneer needs a sound wall under it. The masonry industry's install guide says it shouldn't go over a deteriorating or unsound wall, or over EIFS, the foam-backed stucco finish. If your wall is one of those, the plan starts there, before you pick a stone, and I'll tell you which you have when I come out.
What causes water damage behind stone veneer?
One lath maker reports that veneer problems start when moisture gets past the stone and damages the wall behind it. Missing or badly done flashing, the metal that turns water out at edges and openings, and torn or missing water barrier layers often make it worse. That's why we spend our time on those layers.
How much does stone veneer installation cost?
Across the US, stone veneer installation usually runs about $15 to $45 per square foot installed. That's the market's range, not our price. Where your wall falls depends on the repair it needs first, the stone you choose and how much cutting around corners and openings it takes, and my written quote gives you the figure for your own wall.
Who can buy a building permit for stone veneer in Huntsville?
In Huntsville, a certified homebuilder licensed in the city who holds a homebuilder's licensure card can buy the permit. You can buy it yourself as the owner if you'll live in the house at least a year after the work is finished and all permits close, and you'll need a copy of the recorded deed. You can check the details on the city's building permit page, and when we take a job, we handle the permit if it needs one.
How long does stone veneer installation take?
Every job has at least one fixed wait, because stone makers require the scratch coat to cure for 48 hours before any stone goes on. The rest turns on the size of the wall, any repair it needs first and whether a permit or flood review comes before the start. Your estimate lays out the order.
Does a two-story stone veneer wall need an engineer?
Plan on it. One veneer maker's guide says multi-story installations, high walls and other engineered installations require design by a registered design professional, such as a licensed engineer or architect. That design step has to happen before installation starts, and I'll flag it at the estimate if your wall is tall enough to need it.
Related services that come before the stone
Concrete block walls
If the block wall you want covered is cracked, leaning or crumbling at the joints, rebuilding it gives the new stone something solid to hang on.
Foundation block wall installation
When part of the foundation itself has failed, new block has to go in under the house before anyone should talk about the face it'll wear.
Service areas around Huntsville for stone veneer
Capstone Huntsville Concrete and Masonry is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and does stone veneer in the cities around it. The site has pages for 10 service areas, Athens and Guntersville among them. If your city isn't listed, call and ask anyway.
Get your wall looked at before the stone
Finding a bad wall before the stone is chosen costs far less than finding it after the stone is up.