Stone and stone blocks add tremendous value to your home or construction project and yet they are often overlooked as a building material because they are seen as too expensive, too heavy, too hard to work with, and simply out of reach as a cladding option. But what if you could create a real stone finish for a similar cost as a brick veneer or rendered finish?

An Australian company, Ecobuild Solutions, has created a stone panel that uses real stone adhered to an XPS backing. The cladding innovation relies on the simple fact that you can achieve a stone block appearance with a 10mm thick piece of real stone, as long as you have a solid fixing system for the panel. Ecobuild has created this system and the Aussie invention is being patented around the world.

So what are 14 good reasons to reconsider your thinking around cladding and panelling?

1. RealStone uses less than 90% of the material than solid stone wall construction resulting in significant savings on the planets natural resources.
2. Concrete, cement and brick intensive cladding options have a much higher carbon footprint that RealStone, so not only can you achieve a better looking dwelling, you can also do something good for the environment.
3. RealStone does not require expensive concrete footings like stone blocks or other heavier cladding options, and this results in reduced building materials and cost savings.
4. RealStone is available in many natural stone types, colours and textures commonly used in stone block houses and facades in Australia.
5. RealStone does not require expensive masonry substrates to be affixed to, resulting in major savings in building materials, labour and money.
6. RealStone is easily installed direct to timber or metal framed structures with our patent pending EasyFix channel system. This reduces preparation time and increases speed of installation. That will reduce costs.
7. RealStone is waterproof when fixed according to the specification manual.
8. RealStone provides a system insulation factor of R-2.6 without other wall insulation thus saving on additional insulation material and installation costs.
9. RealStone insulating board is a closed cell product that has no food value and is therefore vermin resistant.
10. RealStone is around half the weight of most other stone veneers in the market place making it ideal for upper, multi story builds and extensions due to its lightweight features at 30-35kgs a sq metre compared to most stone veneers at 50-60kgs a sq metre.
11. RealStone installation process is very clean compared to all the messy mortar based fixing procedures used by other cladding systems. This not only reduces costs, it reduces runoff into our rivers and oceans.
12. RealStone requires very little maintenance apart from general cleaning and being a natural stone finish should last for the life of the home.
13. RealStone insulates sounds as well as providing thermal insulation and will deliver a comfortable living environment.
14. RealStone looks absolutely stunning on any style of home whilst adding real value and charm to what is generally your most significant investment. For a similar cost to a brick veneer, we think real stone will provide much better appeal and value to a dwelling.

These are 14 very good reasons to think again about what cladding or panelling solution you should consider, when thinking about building materials and building approaches for your dwelling. RealStone has a significant leg up on other cladding options, providing a real stone finish, with lower installation costs, relatively low cost to buy, and of course with integrated insulation it also lowers the cost of your energy bills.