When building a house, you’re faced with SO many choices. One of the bigger choices is the outside of the house. Are you going to use stucco, brick, stones. panelling, or something else? I knew very early on what I was looking for, and just by sending over some inspiration pictures, Creative Mines was able to direct me to options I was looking for.

Stacked vs. Grouted

There are several different grout techniques for you to consider when choosing different stones and grouts. Stone Grout (and lack of grout) has a huge impact on the final look of your stonework. Grout color is often as important as the stone itself. These are the three distinct stone grout techniques:

Standard Joints (Raked)

A standard joint (raked) is achieved by stones being places at a finger space apart and then grouting the space between. When the mortar is semi-dry, you’ll then “rake” it to achieve a consistent depth throughout the grout.

Dry-Stack Joints

Dry-stack joint stonework is accomplished by “dry” fitting each stone prior to installation. You’ll use mortar to set the stone into place, but not use grout to fill any spaces. This technique will make the stone appear as if no mortar was used.

Overgrout Joints

The Third option is Overgrout Joints. Overgrout is increasingly becoming the more popular option to achieve an “old-world look”. Trowels, tuck pointers, or even fingers can be used to achieve the overgouted look. This style gives the stonework a rustic or age look. The grout overlaps the face of the stone, widening the joints and
making them very irregular

Inspiration Pictures:

Creative Mines Craft Orchard Limestone

I went online and ordered samples of several Limestone Veneer options shipped to me, which was great to see the stones in person. After seeing the options in person, my top two choices were the Craft Orchard Limestone in the color Alpaca and Timberwolf. My husband’s top choice is Alpaca, while my top choice is Timberwolf. One of the really cool things that Creative Mines is able to do is mix their stones (ie. 60% Timberwolf, 40% Alpaca). Because of this, I decided to make some mockups of stone mixes so I could really see what combo we like best.

Once you’ve decided on the stone combination, you’ll then decide on grout style and color. Depending on the grout color you choose, the look of the stone can change drastically. Because of this, I decided to test out some grout colors as well, just to ensure we have all of the perfect combinations. My vision is to have a white, overfilled grout.

**THE FIRST TWO PICTURES THE GROUT IS WET –
when it dries it turns into a beautiful creamy white color.

Brick Options

Lastly, One of the other choices I needed to make was brick. Creative Mines offers a variety of brick options, one being a paintable brick. Painting brick is a very controversial project–some people love it, and some people despise it. These are great because these bricks are specifically designed to end up painted.

It’s important to remember that the color of your grout, regardless of your project, will change the look of your stone, brick, tile, you name it. You’ll notice in the last picture that the same brick has a totally different look with the dark grout versus the light grout. Creative Mines was amazing at allowing me to see the different grout colors next to the stones/bricks I was choosing which allowed me to have all of the information I needed to make the choices for my exterior.

Check out more about my Exterior choices on my IG Highlight or in Reels