Technical Info

It is essential to keep stone clean at all times with fresh clean water. Do not let glue, grout or mortar dry on the stone. Sponge clean and finish rinse with clean water and clean sponge.
DO NOT USE ACID ON STONE, as it can damage the stone.

TILES AND VENEERS
Allstone supplies the following adhesive and primer:
Just-2-Easy – a superior adhesive for walls up to and over 3m, tilt up walls
and compressed cement sheeting - BGC’s 9mm Stonesheet (see detailed specifications on www.bgc.com.au)
Universal Primer – assists in bonding the adhesive to the substrate.
Using recommended adhesive, butter back of tile as well as floor or wall with 10mm notched trowel.
Use Tarver method to apply stone to floor or wall:
“Spread the adhesive on the surface to achieve the best possible mechanical bond. ‘Rib’ the adhesive with a notched trowel of an appropriate size to obtain a uniform thickness. When the trowel is held at an appropriate angle and its notched side is drawn over the adhesive, it will give a series of parallel ribs. The tiles should be pressed into and moved at least the width of a rib perpendicular to the adhesive ribs. This should achieve both the minimum required coverage and bed thickness. This operation has to be carried out correctly as adequate ribs are essential to ensure an evenly distributed area of contact between tile and adhesive”. These ribs should be horizontal for walls.
If the back of the stone is dirty or dusty it should be cleaned with a moist sponge.
There can be some bleeding of moisture on dark coloured tiles, the use of the above adhesives and method should minimise this problem.
The best substrate to apply stone veneers to is brick block work. Note that for a random ashlar pattern the stone is cut to fit brick block work with the stone 1, 2, & 3 bricks high and 1, 1.5, 2 & 2.5 bricks long. For random ashlar pattern the spacing is 10mm – the same as brickwork. Wooden dowels can be used for spacing.
For substrates other than brick block work extra care must be taken.
As far as we know the only compressed cement sheeting rated to handle the weight of stone veneers is BGC’s 9mm Stonesheet. See their website (www.bgc.com.au) for specifications etc.
When adhering stone to cement sheet it is essential that a primer (e.g. Universal Primer) and a more flexible adhesive (e.g. Just-2-Ezy) is used as well as the above ‘Tarver’ method. We must emphasise that generally the main issue when adhering to cement sheet is the contact between the glue and the board.
Although the stone is cut to exacting tolerances (+/- 1mm) we recommend a minimum joint of 3mm.
PAVERS
We recommend that pavers be laid in mortar (50mm min - ideally with reinforcing mesh) on top of a properly compacted base (or 50mm min concrete) with at least a 3mm joint which can be grouted in a suitable colour. 30mm and thicker pavers may be laid on washed sand over a compacted base however the mortar gives a superior finish. We recommend the use of a layer of Forticon plastic or similar (as used for concrete slabs) to prevent moisture from coming up and affecting the paving (this is the main problem affecting all paving). Pavers may also be glued to a concrete base using the ‘Tarver’ method outlined above. 
Granite Cobblestones are glued to concrete and then a mortar mix in the appropriate colour is used to finish.
Ensure concrete is fully cured prior to adhering pavers and tiles.

SEALING
We recommend the sealing of all pavers and floor tiles as they are particularly prone to staining.
We use and recommended  DryTreat sealers.
Stain-Proof for outdoors and Meta-Crème for indoors.
These are penetrating sealers which do not tend to change the colour and finish of the stone. If applied by a licensed applicator (Allstone) these products come with a 15 year guarantee. See www.drytreat.com for more information.
Stone around a saltwater pool must be sealed. Especially the coping which can be pre-dipped in DryTreat 40SK by Allstone in our warehouse and with a 15 year guarantee.
Walls generally do not require a sealer unless they are in an area prone to graffiti, small children, adjacent to a BBQ, front line coastal or moist areas.

Veneer stone is genuine stone cut into thin widths. It can be fixed to various types of walls with an appropriate mortar adhesive available from Allstone. Veneers come in various sizes according to the pattern selected: eg random ashlar pattern (mixed lengths and heights) or coursed ashlar (mixed lengths and one height).

Lengths: 230mm, 350mm, 470mm and 590mm
Heights: 76mm, 162mm and 248mm
Thickness: 15mm or 20mm (depending on stone + protruding rock face)

The stone is carefully packed in wooden crates to avoid breakages and to enable loading and unloading with a forklift.

• Stone is cut to fit with standard brick construction and allows for 10mm joints. This dramatically reduces laying time and on site waste of stone.
• Stone is sold by the square metre; measurements are calculated on wall area allowing for 10mm joints.
• Approximately 25s.m. smooth face veneer or 17s.m. of rock face veneer equals 1 tonne.

NOTE: Sandstone veneers are now available for stack or stretcher bond pattern in selected stones.

Blocks are stone cut in traditional large thicknesses. Precisely cut for random or coursed ashlar patterns allowing for standard footings and cavity wall construction. Blocks come in various sizes according to the pattern selected: eg random ashlar pattern (mixed lengths and heights) or coursed ashlar pattern (mixed lengths and one height).

Lengths: 230mm, 350mm, 470mm and 590mm
Heights: 76mm, 162mm and 248mm
Thickness: 100mm (+ protruding rock face)

• Stone is cut to fit with standard brick construction and allows for 10mm joints. This dramatically reduces laying time and on site waste of stone.
• All pallets/crates are supplied with mixed lengths and heights for random ashlar pattern or mixed lengths and one height for coursed ashlar work.
• Stone is sold by the square metre; measurements are calculated on wall area allowing for 10mm joints.
• Approximately 4s.m. equals 1 tonne.

NOTE: Special sizes can be cut on request.

The following adhesive, available from Allstone, is recommended:

• Just-2-Ezy

1. Apply Universal primer, depending on substrate.
2. Using recommended adhesive, butter back of tile as well as floor or wall with 10mm notched trowel
3. Use Tarver method to apply stone to floor or wall:
   “Spread the adhesive on the surface to achieve the best possible mechanical bond. ‘Rib’ the adhesive with a notched trowel of an appropriate size to obtain a uniform thickness. When the trowel is held at an appropriate angle and its notched side is drawn over the adhesive, it will give a series of parallel ribs. The tiles should be pressed into and moved at least the width of a rib perpendicular to the adhesive ribs. This should achieve both the minimum required coverage and bed thickness. This operation has to be carried out correctly as adequate ribs are essential to ensure an evenly distributed area of contact between tile and adhesive”. These ribs should be horizontal for walls.

Technical reports may suggest natural stone is suitable around swimming pools however our professional experience indicates all stones can be susceptible to salt degradation. We recommend all stone be sealed with an appropriate sealer by a licensed applicator, especially sandstone which is a more porous stone. Ideally for pools a salt free filtration system such as ozone should be used if possible.

Adelaide stonemasons have traditionally used random ashlar pattern (a variety of sizes) in their work. As an alternative, an interesting effect can be made by coursing stones using different lengths but the same height (coursed ashlar) and then on every 2nd or 3rd course introduce a narrow band to break the pattern (banding). Another effect can be achieved by using coursing with different heights (random coursed ashlar) as well as the normal brick pattern (stretcher or brick bond).

Flush/Slightly Recessed Pointing is similar to the way that bricks are usually pointed.
Scribed Line Pointing is where the mortar is smeared over the edges of the stone and then a line is scribed into the mortar. The aim is to blur the edge of the stone.
Fine Line Pointing is the same as above but with the scribed line painted in.
Raked joints are where the mortar is taken out to a depth of approx. 1-2cm. This is mainly used on solid uncut blocks such as Bluestone.

The colour and texture of the sand used for pointing up is critical to the final finish. To ensure that the best quality is achieved Allstone has brought in large quantities of pointing sand from a quarry in Victoria just to point up our veneer and block work. The finish we achieve is definitely worth the trouble.
Don’t forget, when pointing up always use clean water to immediately sponge off mortar stains as you go.

We have test results for our Sandstone 'Sand Dune' in both a summary and a full report.

We also have test results for our Basalt 'Dawn Grey' in both a summary and a full report.

All natural stones are products of nature and as such no two pieces are exactly alike. Colour variations will occur both initially and over time. We recommend inspecting the material prior to installation to check the colour, veining, sizing, finish and prepare any blending required to meet owner / buyer approval. The purchaser acknowledges that additional stone ordered at a later date may not be available, can be more costly and cannot be guaranteed to match the original stone. Free quotations are estimates calculated on areas plus cutting and wastage. Wall measurements include 10mm pointing in length and widths. No responsibility is taken for any mistakes in estimations. All measurements are nominal sizes only, variations may occur as a consequence of quarrying and cutting. Appropriate measures should be taken when laying pavers to prevent ingress of salt from subsoil, especially around pools (e.g. use of Forticon & sealers). When using adhesives to install stone the "Tarver" method must be used. No claims will be accepted after material is installed. We recommend that all stone be sealed with the appropriate DryTreat sealer by a licensed applicator. When labour is included, the builder (or owner) is responsible for waste management on site to conform to EPA standards.

Please note that the images on this site are digital photographs of the actual stone. The colours may vary depending on screen settings.
We will not be held responsible for any inconvenience arising directly or indirectly from this issue.