What is this stuff?

[lostinthewoods]

Howdy gang!

I came across this stuff the other day and am curious about it. I twas Sunday when I found it so there was no one on site to ask about it. As you can see from the pictures that it looks like stone work, but it is actually made from a high density foam of som kind. It looks like it would be very easy to work with. Thanks in advance.

lost

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/lostinthewuds/IMG_0407.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i58/lostinthewuds/IMG_0408.jpg

[rassd71]

Interesting product, I haven't seen it around here. Lots of the fake cast stone and even some of the light weight fake stone, but nothing in a sheet product. I'm interested to see what you find out.

[lostinthewoods]

Here are a few links that I've found. The first is the closest to the material that I saw. BOY IS IT PRICY!!!! About $8+/sqft. I don't know if that includes shipping or not. Man does it look goos though.


http://www.architecturaldepot.com/c/simulated-stone-siding/
http://www.nextstone.com/index.php

Just paste those links into your browser and you see what I mean.


lost

[rassd71]

Yeah anything new and cool is ALWAYS expensive!
... that's why they say the 'cutting edge' is also the bleeding edge!

;D

[JakeLeg]

expanded polystyrene stone in 4x8 sheets....

>> shudder <<

i think i need to wash my eyes out, now...

[annabella1]

It looks like stuff we used to cast to make lightweight theatre sets. But I wouldn't use it anywhere it's exposed to the elements.

[DaNgEr_KiTtY]

i havent seen this stuff around here for new construction but a guy i know that is a carpenter in the virginia beach area says he uses it all the time & it looks great. personally i dont like it. why? welp maybe for no other good reason than its just not a traditional form of construction that appearss "cheap" to me.

i guess it would really depend on what it was being used for. i have seen so many houses with these sorts of products look like crap in 10 years or less. most of these products claim little or no maintenance & a 30 year+ warranty. i guess the sad thing is that many of the traditional building materials are such a low quality that they wont hold paint on an exterior. i never thought i would see the day when i would recommend composite type materials on exteriors but the day has come. i hate the vinyl stuff cause it looks so, well PLASTIC! but some of the composites look a lot better. seems that my biggest problem with getting even the life-time warranty paint to stick is the grain of the wood. they dont cut things like siding boards in the pie cutting method so the grain is seldom tight & that tends to force off paint & cause splitting or peeling of the grain. sun messes it up first then the rain does the rest.