Rock out to this video

My April article on thin-sawn stone veneer shows how you can get the look of natural stone without the bulk of full-size rock. But I thought this video from stoneyard.com helped explain a different part of the process: how a big pile of rubble becomes a stack of neat, manageable slices of stone.

(Warning: Unless you're particularly used to the head-banging sounds of Metallica or Korn, lower the volume when you get to the slicing section.)

See, I love thin-sliced rock because it lets you put up natural stone pretty much anywhere you want--a fireplace surround, your exterior cladding, or a foundation wall--without needing the extra support of a masonry ledge.

Even after going through the cutting blocks, stone veneer still shows the solid, rough-hewn texture of the real deal. And after handling several boxes of the stuff, I can tell you that sawn stone isn't some watered down, second-class pebble rock--it keeps some of the heft, too.