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Which Stone Goes With My House? Matching Natural Stone to Your Roof, Brick and Trim

Six rules for picking stone that suits your house, plus eight house styles and the natural stone that works with each.

How Much Stone Do I Need? Measure Once, Order Right, Never Run Short

The five-minute method for measuring flats, corners, sills and caps, with four real priced examples and thin veneer vs full bed.

How to Build a Stone Fire Pit Area: Materials, Real Costs and Mistakes to Avoid

How a real stone fire pit area goes together: pit size, wood vs gas, the cap, four patio options and three real budgets at today's prices.

Thin Veneer vs. Full-Bed Stone: The Real Cost Comparison

  The Mason's Bench — Buying Guides Same quarry. Same stone. Two completely different structural systems — and a price gap that has almost nothing to do with the price per square foot on the tag...

Thin Stone Veneer Installation: The Complete Technical Guide

  The Mason's Bench — Technical Reference Beautiful stone is half the battle. The other half is the wall behind it, the mortar between it, and a hundred small decisions that separate work that l...

Installing Stone Veneer Over Your Existing Brick Home

  The Mason's Bench — Renovation Guides Half of southern Ontario lives behind 1960s–90s brick, and a lot of it is tired. The good news, confirmed on facade after facade across the province: soun...

What Natural Stone Veneer Actually Costs in Canada (2026)

The Mason's Bench — Buying Guides Every supplier in this industry answers the price question with a quote form. Here are actual numbers — material, sundries, labour, and freight, in Canadian do...

Mortar Colour & Mortar Strategy: The Design Decision Hiding in Plain Sight

  The Mason's Bench — Secrets of the Trade You will agonize for weeks over your natural stone veneer blend — and then let somebody's default grey decide fifteen percent of your wall. Here's the m...

Choosing the Right Mortar

TRADE KNOWLEDGE • NATURAL BRICK & STONE DEPOT • MORTAR & MASONRY SERIES • INSTALLATION GUIDE • VENEER & FULL-BED MASONRY What the Best Masons Know That Most Homeowners Don't Ask ten...

Best Fire Pit Ideas – Heated Backyard Retreat Designs

Updated October 2026 People have gathered around a fire for as long as there have been people. A good fire pit area gives your backyard that same pull. Here are ideas for building one in natural s...

AMAZING FIRE PIT & OUTDOOR FIREPLACE IDEAS

No matter the occasion, a fire pit is always a great way to promote a gathering area. Of course, if the weather is a bit cooler out than normal, people will huddle around a fire without prompting....

15 Stone Fire Pits to Spark Ideas for Your Outdoor Space

Designing a Stone Fire Pit Adding a fire feature to your outdoor space makes it a destination. Like moths to a flame, you and your guests will be drawn to a fire pit in the evening to relax, enjo...

Installation Tips for Natural Stone Thin Veneer

OUTDOOR INSTALLATION PROCESS  When installing Thin Stone Veneer, always make sure that whatever type of surface you are covering is clean and free of debris  If you are applying the veneer to an ...

Tumbled Natural Stone Veneer

We get a lot questions about our tumbled stones, so below we'll show a few samples of tumbled vs. non tumbled. Tumbling achieves the look of aged weathered natural stone, with minimal additional c...

Importing Natural Stone from Canada into the USA

Updated October 2026 Most of our customers are in the United States. We ship every order from our stone yard in Southwestern Ontario, book the truck, and arrange and pay the customs broker. You pi...