Installing interior/exterior stone veneer; is it a PITA?

I will be following this post as well . . . I have given some thought to putting up a stone veneer wall around my woodstove for the aesthetics . . . but no previous experience.

We will be doing the same for behind the new woodstove. Based on the online videos, it doesnt look hard. I watched a crew do the exterior of a home and they make it look really easy.

Those cast "stones" are really pretty easy to work with. I would assume they would be fine to go over existing brick, but I would check with the manufacturer as the coefficient of expansion between the brick and the stones may differ enough to pop them loose....but I HIGHLY doubt it.

We did my BIL's gas fireplace hearth and chase (interior) with them and it was really easy...glue them up with liquid nails, let them sit, then grout them in. If you have any home repair skills, you can handle this job. Just plan it out and take your time. Get a masonry blade for an angle grinder for trimming and cutting.

I would only use real stone too, as the fake stuff looks 'fake'. There is plenty of info for this in this forum and I am no expert but i do know that with real stone you are best off doing a scratch coat over the brick and then using mortar for attaching the stone.

I have been a big fan of Eldorado Stone. Huge selection. I have used it on 5 homes now. Looks real and I always get a lot of compliments. It is not hard to do, but can be time consuming especially if you are a perfectionist. I would stay away from dry stacking on your first project it is much more difficult. Do not use liquid nails. Mortar is not expensive and it works.

Price out the materials and you can always get an installed price. On my most recent project (lot of stone) I paid someone else to do the work. It took 2 guys about 8 working days. Would have taken me longer. It really did not cost that much more and my time was worth more to me.

If you have the time do it yourself. Nothing like looking at the finished project with a great sense of accomplishment.

Here is an example of Eldorado stone. This is one I did myself.

Are you gong over existing brick everywhere?

Won't need too much if so:

Something to mix the mortar in (wheelbarrow)
Pan to move the mortar to the work area.
Notched trowel for scratch coat.
pointed trowel for buttering stones
Rock hammer/chisel
Grout bag
Optional diamond saw blade to cut stones where necessary

Good instructions on Eldorado's website.

http://www.eldoradostone.com/flashsite/

for the size of the area you can definately do it yourself
my wife and I stoned 3000 square feet outside of our house
outdoor kitchen and inside fireplace over a two year period
very time consuming and tedious on large areas
definately use mortar and add a little lime to it to make it stickier
grout as you go so you keep up on the grout process
if you have to go back and grout alot at one time its not fun
stick about 20 sq ft and then grout it and continue to stick stone and grout
if its hot out dampen the wall so the moisture is not sucked out of the mortar to quickly

I've done a couple of veneers in the past, not all that difficult. Used flag stone and mortar. You will want to use wall ties as you go up as well. The last thing you want is to see your work on the ground.