Veneer to Eternity

As part of the exterior changes we decided to have stone veneer placed along the base of front of the house up to the bottom of the windows. Last winter, when we were making all kinds of material selections, the contractor referred me to a supplier in Freehold, telling me the kind of stone to look for. I picked up some sample sections of stone, brought them home, and Shaw and I placed them outside to see which one went best with the pavers we have and the siding I had bought a section of as a sample. This decision was made in early spring.

At the beginning of August, after exact measurements had been taken to see how much stone we'd actually need, the contractor told me that a new product of stone veneer had just come on the market. It seemed that the stuff we'd chosen, which had been state-of-the-art, was in reality cement that was molded to resemble stone and then painted or stained to make it look more authentic. But the new product was actual stone that was cut and made into large mosaic sections, and it was much more durable and not nearly as susceptible to being scratched or chipped. So if we were really smart we'd go with this.

On Saturday August 8th I schlep up to a stone company in Edison with my piece of siding where I find the display our contractor had mentioned, and see a color of stone that would really work. The following Monday I call to tell him the good news and say 'go for it.' He calls me the next day and says 'not so fast'; it seems that the samples I saw aren't carried yet. But, the good news is that there is something similar that just came out and he'll stop off the next night to show us. He does, there's no discernible difference from what I saw in Edison, so we're back on track. He says the supplier told him it would be delivered in about a week.

The next week he tells me the supplier called and is no longer certain when the stone will be in. Meanwhile, the siding has been delivered and is sitting on several pallets on our driveway, but the siding can't be installed until the stone is as the siding is far more flexible and has to be cut around the stone. So there's a bit of time pressure.

That Saturday I stop by the tile place from where we've purchased all our tile, in order to get some samples for the kitchen backsplash. As I'm looking around I suddenly notice a sample cut of stone that looks exactly like what we'd selected and that our contractor is having so much trouble locating. What's that, I ask. Oh, that's something I just got in that's good for inside or out. It's real stone,' the owner replies. How long would it take to get? I ask in excitement. I can have it by this Thursday. I immediately call our contractor and tell him this wonderful news.

Monday morning he calls and tells me that the tile guy called his supplier to place the order, and was told it won't be in until September 10th. It seems his supplier and our contractor's supplier are one and the same, and is an equal opportunity misleader. It also seems that this new product is suddenly the hottest thing since saran wrap, so as soon as somebody gets a delivery it's sold. So, we wait, the siding guys do what little they can that won't be affected by the stone in order to stay busy, and finally on Monday, September 14th the stone is delivered. Yay!

The stone is made in two different colors. They deliver us the other one.

The next several days are spent by me calling the contractor, the stonemason calling the contractor, the siding guys - who don't even speak English - calling the contractor, and the contractor calling the stone supplier. On Thursday September 24th we get the new delivery and it's actually the one we ordered. The next day most of it get installed, and looks so amazing that the wait is almost forgotten. Almost.