Sustainability in Stone Cladding for Your Home

Sustainability in Stone Cladding for Your Home

 

As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, sustainable building practices are becoming increasingly important. Buildings and construction sectors are the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, accounting for a staggering 37% of global emissions! (source), builders and interior designers are more regularly opting for sustainable materials for use throughout a home and stone cladding is no different.

Fortunately, in addition to being durable, versatile and stylish, stone cladding is a good option for both exterior and interior applications when it comes to sustainability.

Sustainable Building Practices

Why are sustainable building materials and practices important?

For starters they help to reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint. As climate change and global warming become more of a pressing issue, contributing to reducing ongoing impact is critically important. The more we are able to engineer eco-friendly living, the better for everyone.

Furthermore, sustainable business practices can actually help you save money in the long run. Sustainable, durable choices of materials may incur a higher investment today but it will help you reduce ongoing costs tomorrow.

Natural Ledge stone cladding in Alpine Grey

Natural Ledge – Alpine Grey

What is Stone Cladding?

Stone cladding is  the term used for a technique of applying a thin layer or veneer of stone to the walls of your home. These walls can be either the interior walls or the exterior ones. The purpose of stone cladding is twofold: One, it helps to enhance the appearance and achieve a specific aesthetic; Two, it improves the functionality of the home by providing a hard-wearing and durable outer layer.

Natural stone cladding allows homeowners, builders and designers to have their cake and eat it too. What do we mean? It allows you to achieve the timeless look and ensure your benefit from the durability of stone without having to build the entire wall out of it. This saves on material and labour costs.

Wall cladding is a cost-effective alternative and, for that reason among others, is becoming a growing trend here in Australia with our green building market size is projected to exhibit a growth rate of 5.4% during 2024-2032. (Source.)

*CAGR is the annualised average rate of revenue growth between two given years.

Natural vs Manufactured Stone Cladding

It is important to note a distinction here between natural and manufactured stone. As their names suggest, natural stone refers to stone that is quarried directly from the ground, cut into slabs and then turned into stone tiles for use in cladding. Marble, granite and limestone are all examples of natural stone that make for great stone cladding material.

On the other hand, manufactured stone – sometimes referred to as engineering stone – is produced in a factory. It is made up of an aggregate of materials, including some natural stone as well as resin and other items, and produced in uniform and large quantities.

Both natural and manufactured stone come with environmental considerations.

Stone Veneer – Ashburn

What are the environmental benefits of Sustainable Stone Cladding?

What makes stone cladding so eco-friendly? There are actually a number of environmental benefits.

1. Energy efficiency

The first advantage of wall cladding is the energy efficiency it brings to a home. Stone is a fantastic insulating material so it will be easier to regulate the temperature of your home: Cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This will save on your air conditioning and heating usage and help improve your home’s energy efficiency, thus impacting the environment less.

2. Durability

Stone materials are renowned for their durability and hardiness. This translates to less repairs, replacement and maintenance over the long term further saving on energy use, material use and more. The Australian climate can be quite harsh, so utilising hardy stone is an important environmental consideration.

3. Material usage

Stone cladding, being just a layer of material, allows for significantly less raw material to be used. Compared with building an entire wall out of stone the difference can be rather startling. If minimising environmental impact is important to you, then wall cladding is a smart choice.

4. Recyclability

Sustainable stone cladding can also be recycled or the materials otherwise reclaimed. On the flip side, stone cladding can be procured from previously recycled stone material offering even more opportunities to minimise environmental footprints.

Sustainable building materials: Natural vs manufactured stone?

There are a couple considerations when weighing up natural vs manufactured stone wall cladding.

Sustainability Factors of Natural Stone

Natural stone is extremely durable and its style has proven to be timeless. For these reasons, it is a common practice to use surplus stone from quarries and off cuts in other construction applications, such as wall cladding. This reduction in waste – which otherwise may just be crushed and disposed of – is a net positive for the environment.

On the other hand, natural stone does need to be transported from quarries around the world, such as Italy and Brazil, to your home here in Australia. While modes of transportation are becoming greener, this is a factor to take into account.

Sustainability Factors of Manufactured Stone

Manufactured stone cladding also poses advantages and disadvantages from a sustainability perspective. On the one hand, there is less impact on the earth during production, yet the production process can both include synthetic materials which can be more harmful and utilise significantly more energy.

Some manufactured stone utilises concrete-based products which also have a higher carbon footprint than natural stone cladding.

Tips for Choosing Sustainable Stone Cladding

How can you make a more environmentally conscious and responsible choice when it comes to sustainable stone cladding? Consider the following tips:

  1. Look for reclaimed or recycled stone to reduce the demand for new quarrying.
  2. Opt for natural stone which is both more durable for a longer lifespan and biodegradable, as well as recyclable.
  3. Prioritise darker stones to absorb heat or lighter stones to reflect heat and improve your home’s energy usage (and climate control).
  4. Choose minimal processing or finishing to reduce environmental impact during production and installation.
  5. Invest in natural stone which offers timeless aesthetic styling so there is no need for extensive future renovation.
  6. Consider how the stone cladding you choose could potentially be reused or repurposed at the end of its life.

The Remastone team is here to help

The team here at Remastone are stone cladding experts and environmentally conscious practice enthusiasts.

Whether you’re looking for a quote for natural stone cladding or would like more advice on how to find the right stone cladding solution tailored for your home, we are here to help.

Our extensive experience and expertise will ensure you are able to find a sustainable stone cladding solution that will improve your home and minimally impact the environment. Get in touch with us today for a free quote or to find out more.