Real Stone vs. Cast Stone
All of our products are custom-made, one-of-a-kind, to your measurements and specifications. They are not off-the-shelf, standardized production models, such as cast products, which are limited by the moulds each supplier has.
Cast products are homogeneous in colour and texture and therefore look bland.
Real stone has character and texture such as veining, pitting, crystallization,
fossilization and colour variation. You will not find that in imitation
stone.
SilastoneT, Lyonstone™, Cortina Stone™, Countercast™ and others are examples
of cast stone brands. While some of these imitation stone products
look just like concrete, others try to mimic stone as closely as possible,
but none are the real thing. Many cast products look fake from a distance,
due to their uniformity and construction, others just don’t look right
on closer inspection and don’t feel like stone to the touch.
According to the Wikipedia: “Cast
stone is a Portland
cement-based architectural pre-cast
concrete product manufactured using high quality fine and coarse
aggregate as its primary constituents. Simulated stone, or look-alike
products made with alternative ingredients such as gypsum,
lightweight products, glass
fiber, calcium
silicate, stucco and
other materials are less durable and not nearly as well time-tested.”
Here are some of the issues with cast stone products:
- Concrete starts to deteriorate and crumble from the moment it is manufactured.
- Can crack and fissure like your garage floor or patio.
- Have visible air pockets and bubbles on the surface, sometimes sold as “patina”.
- Show visible mold seams that have been poorly or only partially removed.
- Concrete and resin products don’t age well, while stone acquires a patina and an aged beauty only found in natural materials.
- Cast products are homogeneous in colour and texture and therefore look bland.
Which do you prefer?
- A floor made of veneered plywood or solid hardwood?
- A countertop made of polyester/acrylic, such as Corian, Avonite, HI-MACS or Staron or one made of solid granite?
- A fireplace mantel, column or fountain made of ground-up aggregate with concrete or one made of real stone?
For more information:
key benefits | why buy from us | real vs. cast stone | q&a | manufacturing | packaging & shipping | preparation | stone installation | environment | terms
