An artificial boulder made from old fabric. How to make artificial stone Recipe for making decorative stone

Natural stones have been used for finishing the interiors and facades of buildings for a long time. The use of stone in interior decoration allows you to achieve the most unexpected results. With its help, you can design your home and garden in the style of a knight's castle; columns trimmed with stone look elegant, and a fireplace framed with slate is attractive. It should be noted that natural stone is a very heavy material, so not every wall can withstand such a load. The large weight of the material also increases the cost of its transportation. In addition, natural stone is quite expensive.

But there is a way out. In order to make it possible to use stone in interior decoration, cladding the facade of a house, garden design and to overcome all the shortcomings, a technology for the production of artificial stone was developed. You can make artificial stone with your own hands, and it will practically not differ from natural stone. The price of material made at home will be much lower than that of natural material. Outwardly, they hardly differ from each other, while artificial stone is devoid of all the disadvantages of natural stone. Read more about how to make artificial stone at home.

Artificial stone can be made to imitate any type of natural rock, repeating its texture. It can have the following types of surface: chipped with an uneven surface and edges, sawn with smooth, even edges, rubble (looking like ordinary natural boulders) and random. Certain design tasks may require different types of surfaces. By making stone with your own hands, you can obtain a material suitable for finishing a specific room. The most popular type of artificial stone is slate.

What is artificial stone made from at home?

To make this material with your own hands, several different technologies are used. One technology involves making it from cement, fine sand and water, the other from gypsum or alabaster. There is also an option for making stone with your own hands, in which polymers are used to bind all the components. Therefore, the composition of the mixture for the production of this building material at home is determined based on the available ingredients and capabilities.

The procedure for manufacturing this material is simple; you can do it yourself if you carefully follow the technology.

The process of making stone with your own hands

In any case, making artificial stone with your own hands must begin by selecting an initial sample and creating a mold with which the products will be cast. Having several of these molds, you can quickly make the required number of products. As a model, you can purchase in the store a sample of suitable size and shape, or ready-made silicone molds, which are ready-made kits for the manufacture of this building material.

In order to make artificial stone at home, you will need the following materials and tools:

alabaster;

paint brush;

coloring matter;

dishwashing liquid.

Mold making

The production of artificial stone begins with making a mold. To do this, select a sample, which is a stone of suitable size and shape. Silicone is used to make the mold. Then you need to make a box of the appropriate size, which should be slightly larger than the sample. It will serve as formwork. The box and sample must be thickly coated with grease or some other lubricant. The stone is placed at the bottom of the box, after which silicone is poured into the formwork. It must be compacted with a brush dipped in a soapy solution, for which you can use regular dishwashing detergent. After pouring the silicone, the surface must be leveled with a spatula moistened with soapy water.

The poured forms must dry for 2-3 weeks, after which the formwork is disassembled, the sample is removed and ready-made forms for the manufacture of artificial stone are obtained. Small defects on the surface are sealed with silicone.

Manufacturing from cement

With this method, work is performed in several stages. First you need to mix sand and cement for the first layer in a ratio of 1:3, mixing the components until one mixture is formed. The desired color is obtained by adding a dye, the amount of which is determined experimentally. After this, add water to the mixture and stir everything until sour cream thickens.

The resulting mass should be poured into the mold to about half its volume and compacted by shaking and tapping for about a minute. A metal mesh is placed on top of the mortar to give the stone additional strength and a second layer of mortar is poured. There is no need to add dye to the second part of the solution.

On the top layer of concrete after pouring it, you need to make small grooves using a nail for better adhesion to the surface during installation. Judging by the description, this technology is quite simple; the material can be produced in this way without the use of special equipment. After 12 hours, the finished product is removed from the mold and left to dry for 2 weeks. The mold must then be washed, doing this after each pour.

Manufacturing from gypsum

Making artificial stone from gypsum with your own hands is done in the same sequence as from cement. However, it should be remembered that gypsum hardens faster, so you need to make as much of it as is required to make one product, after which a new portion is diluted. To slow down hardening, citric acid can be added to gypsum.

Since gypsum hardens very quickly, the holding time of products is reduced to several tens of minutes. Before pouring the gypsum solution into the mold, it must be lubricated with vegetable oil. This will help you easily remove the finished block from the mold. Finishing material made using this technology can be used both for interior decoration and for cladding building facades.

The dye can be added to the solution during the manufacturing process of the material. You can also paint the finished product. To do this you will need special paint and a brush of any shape. The painting process is carried out as follows: the surface of the stone is cleaned of sand, dust and cement using a clean rag, after which an even layer of paint is applied to the surface. After it dries, you can apply a second and third coat to achieve the desired shade.

As you can understand from all of the above, when making artificial stone with your own hands, you can do without expensive materials and tools. In addition, this material does not require additional care. To protect it, you need to protect the wall from excessive moisture. This can be done using special compounds, which, after application, give the stone water-repellent properties.

Artificial stone is a good opportunity to make an impressive interior decoration, façade cladding or garden landscaping with your own hands without significant costs.

Artificial stone for facades: finishing features

Even the most ordinary building at first glance can be completely transformed thanks to exquisite cladding made with modern materials. Artificial facade stone is just such a material.

Cladding with natural stone can cost the owner a fortune, while facade artificial stone is not only many times more affordable, but also has many other advantages, in particular, a much simpler installation method.

Finishing facades with artificial stone

Finishing facades with artificial stone

Facade cladding can be done in almost all cases, regardless of what material the building itself is built from.

The protective properties of artificial stone are so high that the service life of the structure can increase several times.

When choosing an artificial stone, you should ask where it was produced. Domestic products are more adapted to Russian climatic conditions.

Option for finishing the facade of a house with stone

What is artificial stone made of?

Technically, artificial stone for façade cladding can be considered a tile, since one edge is necessarily flat.

It is with its help that the stone is attached to the base. But this is where the similarities with ceramic tiles end, since stone and ceramics are produced in completely different ways.

Artificial stone for the facade consists of:

1. Portland cement M400-500;
2. quartz sand;
3. filler that lightens the weight of the stone;
4. additives that increase strength and moisture resistance;
5. water.

The lightening component is often ordinary expanded clay.

Due to its introduction into the composition of artificial stone, its mass is reduced by 2/3 compared to concrete.

Expanded clay is not the only type of filler; in addition to it, the following are also used:

• expanded perlite,
• ceramic chips,
• natural pumice.

You can purchase artificial stone for the facade with any type of filler, of course, but the price for each of them will differ quite significantly.

How artificial stone is made

Artificial decorative facade stone is produced using the vibration casting method, according to which a mixture is poured into rubber molds, which is compacted using vibration.

During the vibration process, heavy and strong particles of the mixture sink to the bottom of the mold, thereby creating uneven strength of the stone, maximum at its outer surface.

At the same time, the back side remains perfectly flat. The molds are obtained from casts of natural stone samples.

Type of artificial stone

Stone coloring can be done in two ways:

1. introducing a dye into the mixture;
2. painting the stone surface during the manufacturing process.

The dye introduced into the mixture will remain in it forever.

It will not fade in the sun and will not be washed off by rain. Painting on the surface is inferior in durability, since chips will reveal the internal texture of the facade stone. but this method allows you to obtain more believable copies of natural materials.

For facade cladding, it is better to choose artificial stone with a dye introduced into its composition, since precipitation and the sun will do their dirty work, and the stone painted on the surface will still lose its appearance.

Types of artificial stone

• a stone of natural or chipped shape imitates naturally formed stones - fragments, boulders, pebbles, cobblestones, and so on;
• sawn stone with standard dimensions and the correct shape of a parallelepiped, only one of the faces of which has a texture imitating the chipping of natural stone;
• brick is an artificial stone that imitates antique or aged ceramic brick.

Types of artificial stone

Its properties

The main characteristics of artificial stone are:

• strength;
• frost resistance;
• water absorption;
• average density.

These are the ones you should pay attention to when choosing.

Artificial stone for finishing facades contains cement. The quality of cement directly affects the strength of the finished stone.

Strength is necessary not only during operation, but when transporting stone from warehouse to warehouse, right up to the buyer.

Strength can be increased by introducing special additives, which is an additional criterion for selection.

Frost resistance for artificial stone is usually 100-150 cycles.

Production of artificial stone.

If the manufacturer claims higher frost resistance, you can pay attention to this, but it should be taken into account that 150 cycles comply with current building codes.

Water absorption affects the first two indicators.

The less moisture the artificial stone is able to absorb, the facade will have greater frost resistance and strength. Normally, this figure should not exceed 9%.

No matter how low the water absorption rate is, it can be made even lower with the help of water-repellent compounds, which are recommended to be used to treat the cladding immediately after its completion.

The average density primarily affects the cost of the stone.

Lightweight facade facing stone is cheaper to transport and lay, which means it will cost the buyer less.

Beautiful facade and durable

Facade cladding

You can cladding the façade of your house with artificial stone yourself.

The technology directly depends on the base on which the artificial stone will be attached.

Preliminary preparation can be dispensed with in cases where the base is a solid, flat surface - concrete, plastered. In other cases, preliminary preparation will be required.

Installing the cladding yourself is not difficult

Preparing a wooden surface involves attaching a plaster mesh, on top of which the adhesive solution will be laid.

The same mesh is applied in all places where there are metal embedded parts and fasteners.

The stone is mounted using two methods:

With jointing, this means that there will be free space between the stones, filled with an adhesive solution. Seamless means that all the tiles are adjacent to each other. The adhesive solution is prepared from cement or a special dry mixture. When laying with jointing, the space between the artificial stone tiles can be additionally painted to create a seamless look for the cladding.

The next stage of installation of artificial stone

Conclusion

To understand exactly how artificial stone is laid, detailed instructions will help, which contain photos of each stage, or those taken specifically to clarify all the stages of installing artificial stone.

> Can artificial stone be considered a replacement for natural stone?

Is artificial stone a replacement for natural stone?

On the one hand, artificial stone does not have a natural origin, but it is malleable, more plastic, and warmer to the touch.

However, at the same time, stone of artificial origin has a number of undoubted advantages over natural stone: a wide range of applications due to the flexibility of composition and color, favorable price, and the variety of types allows the use of artificial stone not only for finishing work (for example, such as veneer - cladding), small architectural forms, but also when creating furniture and architectural decorative elements.

Natural stone is a very beautiful natural material. However, the color scheme, pattern and texture of each stone are unique, and it can be quite difficult to select finishing elements with a more or less similar pattern.

Remember marble panels in the subway or in expensive reception rooms, as well as in the halls of various palaces.

Artificial stone: types, production at home, materials, equipment, techniques

Another thing is artificial material. During its production, it is possible to create the required number of elements of the same type, but at the same time, the abundance of forms used gives the feeling that each pebble is unique.

Casting molds allow you to imitate any texture in such a way that the resulting stone can be completely indistinguishable from natural stone. And the color options are truly limitless - special mineral dyes give the material the necessary shade of the required degree of intensity.

Artificial stone is a composite consisting of fire-resistant mineral filler, pigments and acrylic resin.

As a rule, it contains only environmentally friendly components. Additives used in the manufacture of the material can be different, depending on what properties need to be enhanced. For example, some manufacturers add fiber fiber to the stone, which increases its resistance to destruction, protects it from splitting and makes possible cracks invisible. In addition to cement, acrylic and urea resins, polymer concrete and other polymer components are often used as a binder base, improving the performance of the material.

Modern artificial stone is produced mainly by vibration-compression or vibration-casting methods. Pre-prepared mass is poured or pressed into shaped plastic, plaster, polyurethane or wooden forms, which can be of various sizes and configurations. After it hardens and dries, the product is ready.

Corian can be called one of the most common types of artificial stone. Corian is durable, similar to that of natural stone, and at the same time, when heated strongly, it can be easily processed, which makes it possible to make from it both decorative products and pieces of furniture - window sills, bar counters, countertops, sinks, shelving, information desks (reception) and many other products. For example, a tabletop made of Corian is not only stylish and beautiful, but also reliable and profitable.

Unlike natural material, damaged areas of artificial stone surfaces can be easily restored without the need to replace the entire product.

Along with Corian, Montelli is often used - a type of artificial stone, which in terms of characteristics is slightly inferior to the above-mentioned artificial analogue. At the same time, the cost of Montelli is somewhat lower, which allows it to be actively used when finishing surfaces with a large area.

This artificial stone is especially often used in establishments where hygiene comes first, since caring for artificial stone is very simple, this material does not absorb dirt, is practically not susceptible to the harmful influence of external factors, and is generally unpretentious. Also, in any establishment or furniture store you may come across a countertop made of this artificial stone, a reception desk, sinks, and even entire pieces of furniture.

In turn, the artificially created Zodiaq stone has increased strength, and the well-known Staron is plastic and is actively used in the manufacture of window sills and other products.

Due to the fact that artificial stone is much lighter than natural stone, when covering surfaces with it, no additional strengthening is required. The installation itself is much simpler, since this material is available in the form of flat tiles or hollow forms.

What also makes the work easier is that during the production of decorative stone, special corner and rounded elements and fragments for lining window and door openings are produced, and there is no need to cut the stone, trying to give it the required shape.

There are also various attachments and additional fastening elements.

In fact, there are about a hundred varieties of artificial stone from different manufacturers, and they all have individual characteristics, which allows for the most competent approach to the issue of their use.

As for design solutions, the vast majority of varieties of artificial stone imitate various natural materials.

You can make sure that you have a “marble” or “granite” stone countertop in your home, install a stylish artificial stone reception desk in your office, order a bar counter, or purchase a beautiful, reliable and durable shelving unit that is in no way inferior in style and beauty from a natural analogue.

Also, artificial stone imitates brickwork, tiles and other materials that are used for the external cladding of building walls (stone veneer or stone veneer) and their roofs. At first glance, artificial stone is no different from natural stone; a special coating and vibration formation protect it from moisture and damage as a result of temperature changes, including mechanical ones. Thanks to its amazing properties, artificial stone lays smoothly, leaving no visible joints or seams, and if, for some reason, cracks or other damage have formed in it, then you can quickly and easily restore the surface to an ideal condition.

So, what should you give preference to, natural or artificial material? Let's weigh again all the pros and cons of both. Natural stone is prestigious, reliable, environmentally friendly, beautiful, but at the same time it is very expensive, its processing is very labor-intensive and requires expensive equipment (cutting, grinding, processing) and professional skills.

Well, artificial stone, having excellent strength characteristics and excellent decorative properties, is devoid of all the disadvantages of the first - it is much cheaper, and is easily attached to flat surfaces.

In addition, it is safe, just like natural, since it contains only natural ingredients.

As we see, everything speaks in favor of artificial stone, which allows you to achieve the desired result with much less financial, time and physical costs. Of course, today many companies are engaged in the production of this finishing material, both in Russia and in other countries, and their products vary in price, quality, and appearance, so it is absurd to say that artificial stone from any manufacturer is better, than natural.

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Home » Useful information » Composition of the initial mixture for the production of artificial stone

Composition of the initial mixture for the production of artificial stone

Wallstone© Artificial decorative stone.

(Photo gallery “Our Technologies” on the page of the same name)

What is included in the composition of artificial facing stone produced on flexible elastic injection molds. Essentially, the decorative facing stone we are talking about is a typical sand concrete based on Portland cement, made by vibration casting into special flexible elastic matrices - forms and colored in a special way.

Let's look at the main components of concrete mixtures for the production of artificial facing stone using vibration casting method:

Astringent.

Binder is the basis of any artificial facing stone.

In this case, it is Portland cement grade M-400 or M-500. To ensure that the quality of concrete always remains consistently high, we recommend using only “fresh” cement (as is known, it quickly loses its properties over time and from improper storage) from the same manufacturer with a good reputation.

For the production of decorative facing stone, both ordinary, gray cement and white cement are used. There are a number of colors and shades in nature that can only be replicated on white cement. In other cases, Portland gray is used (for reasons of economic feasibility).
Many domestic manufacturers of artificial facing stone have recently actively used gypsum as a binder.

At the same time, they claim that their products are expanded clay concrete. And, as a rule, expanded clay concrete is actually presented at company stands. But there is one point that determines the behavior of manufacturers of artificial facing stone. The cost of flexible elastic injection molds, which allow you to accurately replicate the texture of the stone, is very high. And if the technology is followed, the turnover of injection molds, that is, the time from the moment the concrete is poured until the formwork is removed, is 10-12 hours, versus 30 minutes for plaster.

This is what pushes companies to use gypsum as a binder. And the price of gypsum is at least five times lower than the price of white cement.
All this provides companies with super profits.

But the price for the end consumer is very high! The extremely low frost resistance and strength of such products will not allow you to enjoy the appearance of the facades for a long time.

The presented photographs show plaster products one year after installation. Multiple cracks and destruction are clearly visible.
Therefore, the use of this material on an industrial scale is difficult. Based on the tasks facing us, we prefer to produce artificial facing stone - a material with hardness and abrasion properties close to natural stone, suitable for both external and internal cladding, rather than decorations that are fragile and capricious to the effects of water.

Filler.

Depending on the type of fillers used, cement-based artificial facing stone can be “heavy” (2-2.4 g/cm3) or “light” (about 1.6 g/cm3).

Ideally, heavy concrete is used for the production of paving stones, decorative paving slabs, borders, plinth frames, and interior stone. For the production of artificial facing stone used for exterior decoration, lightweight concrete is used.

This is approximately what manufacturers working using American technology do. In the regions, unfortunately, predominantly heavy concrete is used.

Of course, it is much easier to make decorative stone on sand, but a light stone will always be preferable for the consumer. It's just a matter of choice.
For the production of heavy artificial facing stone, coarse quartz sand of a fraction of 0.63-1.5 mm is used (the use of fine sand impairs the strength characteristics of concrete) and, when appropriate, small crushed stone, for example, marble, a fraction of 5-10 mm.

“Light” facing stone is made using expanded clay sand.
But when producing artificial facing stone on expanded clay, the following factor should be taken into account. In July 2001, we received information from customers about the appearance of “shots” (spot swelling of white material) on the surface of products (lightweight concrete).
As a result of consultation with specialists, it was found that the “shots” appear as a result of the disintegration of limestone inclusions found in expanded clay.

When free calcium interacts with moisture (water or its vapor), a chemical reaction occurs, accompanied by an increase in the volume of free calcium grains, resulting in a so-called “shot” effect.
CaO + H2O = Ca(OH)2 + CO2 = CaCO3
The peculiarity of this chemical reaction is that it takes a very long time - up to 6 months.
Manufacturers of expanded clay produce products in accordance with GOST, which allows the presence of lime grains up to 3% of the total mass.

The “shots” effect reduces the consumer properties of products, so the task was set to find a new filler for the production of lightweight concrete. It has been observed that the limescale reaction causes destruction of the surface of products ONLY in interior decoration. When using products for finishing plinths and facades of buildings, no visible destruction of the finishing material is observed. According to the statement of an NIIZHB employee, lime decay is leveled out when using products for the exterior decoration of buildings.

In connection with the identification of this pattern, since August 2001

How to make a decorative stone with your own hands. Instructions

products for interior work are produced not on expanded clay, but on another (heavier) filler.
To switch to a single filler, we offer the following ways to solve this problem:
1. Use crushed expanded clay of a fraction of at least 2 cm as a filler.
2. Create expanded clay dumps with storage in an open area for at least 6-9 months.
3. Creation of a heterogeneous filler from quartz sand and lighter artificial filler.
4. Use of slag pumice, however, the bulk weight of the finished product will increase to 1800-2000 kg/m3.
Lightweight aggregate must meet the following requirements:

• bulk weight about 600 kg/m3.
• sand fraction 0-0.5 cm or 0-1 cm (presence of fine fraction 15% of the volume).
• compressive strength 18 kg/cm (expanded clay indicator)
• water absorption up to 25% (expanded clay indicator).

In the production of artificial facing stone, decorative paving slabs, small architectural products on flexible elastic injection molds, the following fillers can be used:
Slag pumice, Granulated slag, Crushed stone and slag sand, Foam glass, Expanded perlite sand, Hard expanded perlite, Expanded vermoculite, Expanded polystyrene, Enriched quartz sand, Marble chips, Construction sand (white), Molding sand, Volcanic pumice.

Pigments and dyes.

The most important component of decorative facing stone is the pigments (dyes) used.

Skillful or unskillful use of dyes directly affects the appearance of the final product. In experienced hands, ordinary concrete right before your eyes turns into something completely indistinguishable from natural “wild” stone. How to achieve this?
For coloring cement, mineral inorganic pigments (oxides of titanium, iron, chromium) and special light- and weather-resistant dyes are used.

Experienced manufacturers usually choose dyes from companies such as Bayer, Du Pont, Kemira and other equally reputable ones. This is due not only to the consistently high quality of their products, but also to their wide range. Thus, Bayer offers several dozen iron oxide pigments.

By combining them with each other, you can choose almost any desired shade of color.
So, Portland cement, expanded clay sand and pigments are the main composition of artificial facing stone. Many manufacturers of architectural concrete products limit themselves to this, despite the fact that there is a huge number of various additives to cement to improve certain characteristics.

In any major city you can find suppliers of domestic and imported concrete additives. These are various superplasticizers that improve the workability and increase the strength of concrete; polymer-latex additives that have a beneficial effect on the durability of concrete; concrete hardening accelerators and air-entraining additives; volumetric water repellents, which reduce water absorption many times (useful for façade, plinth and paving stones); chemical fibers for dispersed reinforcement, which dramatically increases crack resistance and much more.

Decide for yourself whether to use any of these additives or not; we only want to recommend using protective impregnating compounds to treat the surface of decorative facing stone. A properly selected water repellent for concrete will achieve the following results:

• will increase the aesthetics of the stone and eliminate “dusty” - a characteristic feature of any cement concrete;
• will increase the service life of the facade stone (the point here is that the process of destruction of decorative concrete is primarily reflected in color saturation long before the first signs of destruction appear, the reason for which is the exposure of aggregate particles on the front surface of the stone);
• will dramatically reduce the risk of efflorescence on the surface of the stone, which is a real disaster for cement decorative concrete, which is why they should be given the closest attention.

What is artificial stone made from?

You can appreciate the beauty and variety of artificial stone decors using the example of Ecostone products.

Externally, artificial materials can reliably and accurately reproduce the texture and pattern of natural stones.

Let's take a closer look at how artificial stone is made.

Technological process

There are various methods for producing quality and durable stone slabs.

For finishing work, concrete-based materials are often used.

They contain cement and fillers.

Manufacturers can use various materials as fillers, the choice of which determines the final performance properties of the finished product. For example, technologists often make artificial stone based on expanded clay, which has a low density.

In this case, the incoming stone slabs are quite light.

It is worth considering that expanded clay can also be different. For example, fine-grained varieties provide artificial stone with good strength and resistance to physical impact.

On the other hand, slabs mixed with cheap coarse-grained expanded clay are subject to rapid destruction and chipping.

Making artificial stone and molds with your own hands

The best filler that provides corrosion resistance to the product is perlite. It is devoid of the main disadvantages of expanded clay. The color of the produced artificial stone is given by introducing pigments into the composition.

Mass painting is more practical than surface painting.

In this case, the material retains its natural appearance when the top layer is abraded.

The final stage is the application of a special protective coating to the surface of the finished slab, ensuring the stone’s resistance to external influences.

Proper production technology includes the process of drying the material at a given temperature and humidity.

2012 © All rights reserved

Artificial decorative stone is a common building material that is characterized by high performance characteristics and versatility. It is used for cladding internal and external work surfaces. This material can be made independently at home. This article will tell you about the advantages, features of its production and installation.

Today, the range of stones for wall decoration is very wide. It can be easily purchased in construction stores and markets. If necessary, this finishing material can be made by hand. The industrial production of such bricks is very similar to manual production, since both cases involve the use of special injection molds.

Different materials are used for its manufacture. The most common ones are concrete, plaster and acrylic. For the subsequent processing of stone, various technologies can be used: firing, glazing, etc. Liquid decorative brick, which has the appearance of an unhardened composition, is very popular. You can also purchase or make your own flexible type of artificial stone.

For finishing external surfaces, it is customary to use special boards, which are characterized by low porosity and resistance to low temperatures. In turn, stone for interior wall decoration is lighter in weight, which facilitates its installation.

The environmental properties of this facing material depend on what components were used in its production. For example, cement and gypsum have natural properties, and their structure facilitates the penetration of air and moisture.

Helpful information! If the decorative stone contains acrylic, it is not recommended to veneer surfaces located in close proximity to heating devices. This is due to the fact that when heated, this material releases harmful chemical compounds that can cause harm to human health.

Artificial stone from the manufacturer has an affordable price, which undoubtedly makes it more popular among consumers than natural stone. If you choose high-quality material or use the right components in its manufacture, it will not be inferior to natural cladding.

Advantages and disadvantages of artificial stone for interior wall decoration

Decorative stone price per sq. meter ranges from 600 to 1500 rubles. The cost of finished products from the manufacturer depends on many factors, namely: composition, texture, color, etc.

Using non-natural decorative stone for walls, obtained independently, allows you to save money, as well as perform the necessary pattern or continuous installation without any difficulties. This material also has other positive qualities that we recommend paying attention to.

First of all, you can make artificial stone yourself in the same place where it will be laid. This eliminates transportation costs. This facing material is characterized by its small thickness and light weight, as it most often takes the form of thin plates. Thanks to this, the overall weight of the structure is significantly reduced.

Laying methods. Features of working with various bases. How to make gypsum tiles with your own hands.

Acrylic. Manufactured by casting. It turns into a solid state without the use of high temperatures, therefore it is classified as a cold-curing decorative facing material. Has a presentable appearance. For clarity, it is recommended to study the photo of artificial stone for interior wall decoration, made on an acrylic base.

The process of forming acrylic stone implies the same conditions as for the gypsum type. It is characterized by temperature plasticity, so it is possible to change the shape of the finished material. Moreover, this does not affect its quality characteristics.

Liquid. A special type of decorative artificial stone produced using a gel coating (gelcoat). Features of the technology for manufacturing liquid stone affect the mechanical properties of finished products. It is also worth noting that cast decorative tiles are more resistant to temperature changes and moisture than liquid ones.

How to make a mold for artificial stone with your own hands

It is not difficult to purchase a matrix for casting this decorative finishing material in a specialized store. To save money, you can make such a template yourself. Another common reason for making a mold for decorative stone with your own hands is the lack of the necessary type of facing material on sale.

As a rule, ordinary samples of decorative tiles are used as the basis for the matrix. Sometimes the texture of a template is created using natural materials, which include not only natural stones. For example, patterns made to imitate wood patterns are very popular.

There are two types of forms:

• homogeneous;
• complex.

In the first case, the manufacturing procedure is less complicated. This is due to the fact that homogeneous matrices are smaller in size and do not require significant consumption of silicone material. In turn, complex molds make it possible to produce several finished tiles at once, which significantly speeds up the process. It is these matrices that are recommended to be used for making artificial stone for the wall.

Be that as it may, for the formwork you will need a wooden box, which you can make yourself. Sometimes cardboard boxes are used for these purposes. When selecting or making formwork, you need to remember one important rule: the template needs to be designed a little larger than the original stone sample, both in width (10-15 mm) and in height (25-30 mm). This will allow you to achieve the necessary clearance between the products.

To complete the form itself, you will need suitable material. To do this, you can use silicone sealant or polyurethane. There are also special sealants that consist of two ingredients and are sold ready-made.

How to make artificial stone: silicone mold

Silicone sealing compounds can be easily purchased on the construction market or in a specialized store. As a rule, this mixture is sold in tubes or buckets. After making the formwork, you need to take care of lubricating its walls. For this purpose, you can use regular grease.

Next, you need to take the original sample, according to which the template will be made, and place it on the bottom of the formwork. As mentioned above, you can use ordinary tiles, stone or wood. Then grease is also applied to this sample. The fatty substance will allow you to easily separate the matrix from the product and will not spoil the mold pattern.

Note! If a gypsum element is used as a sample for the stencil, then ordinary lubricant is not enough. Before laying it in formwork, it is recommended to cover it with at least two layers of varnish. It is recommended to start making the matrix only after the varnish has completely hardened.

At the next stage, a soap solution is prepared. It is needed to lubricate the tools (brushes and spatula) that will be used to distribute the silicone.

Silicone sealant should be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the facing sample. During the formation of a matrix from this material, it is necessary to ensure that no air pockets are formed.

After filling the formwork with silicone, you can begin to level its surface. For this purpose, a second tool is used - a spatula. Then the mold for making decorative stone is left for some time. This will allow the sealant to harden in the formwork and acquire the desired shape of the sample.

It is worth noting that the longer the matrix is ​​formed, the better quality it will be. Its service life will also depend on this. The approximate hardening rate of silicone is 2 mm per day. Thus, taking into account the thickness of the form, you can easily calculate the time for which you need to leave the stencil. After the matrix is ​​ready, it should be separated from the formwork and the artificial stone sample.

Even a pre-greased mold is quite difficult to detach from the rest of the elements, so it is recommended to slightly trim the contact points. If, after removing the matrix, shells remain on its surface, then this problem can be solved with the help of an additional silicone compound. This is how a template is made for making artificial stone. Photos of finished stencils will help you in making them.

How to make artificial decorative stone from gypsum

To obtain finished decorative products, you first need to understand how to make plaster at home. Before mixing such material, it is advisable to immediately determine its volume. This is due to the fact that gypsum dough has a high hardening rate. Therefore, its quantity must correspond to the number of forms. Let's look at what components are used to produce the gypsum mixture:

• gypsum;
• water;
• sand;
• pigment.

Coloring powder is not used in all cases, but only when it is necessary to obtain decorative stones for a wall of a certain color. The process of mixing the composition itself is not complicated.

First you need to pour water into a pre-prepared tank. Next you can start adding gypsum powder. The proportions may vary, but it is recommended that the amount of water is approximately 0.6 of the volume of the main component. Sand allows you to increase the strength of the future finishing material, so it is recommended to use it in any case. It should be no more than 10% of the total mass of the mixture.

Helpful information! It is recommended to use gypsum and acrylic products as facing stones for interior decoration. In turn, for external work it is best to make concrete elements.

The amount of pigment may vary (from 2 to 6%). It is selected depending on what color you need to get the decorative tiles. It is recommended to test mix a small amount of gypsum in advance to determine the shade.

To lubricate the mold, as a rule, a substance is used that is made from turpentine and wax. The first component must occupy at least 70% of the volume, and the second - the remaining 30%.

After adding the last component to the mixture, it is distributed into molds and leveled with a spatula. The technology for producing artificial stone may include one more stage - vibration processing. Thanks to this, the performance characteristics of future tiles are significantly increased. It is advisable to carry out such processing immediately after placing the mixture in the matrix.

Then you need to wait 15 minutes and remove the formed brick from the stencil. The final step will be to dry it in the open air. It is strictly not recommended to heat treat such products, since gypsum is not resistant to high temperatures.

How to make a decorative stone with your own handsmade of concrete

For the manufacture of concrete finishing products, molds made of polyurethane or plastic are most often used. Let's look at what this type of artificial stone is made from:

• cement;

• sand;
• water;
• polymer resin;
• pigment.

The proportions for making artificial stone at home from concrete may be different. First you need to mix the above components. The proportions of cement and sand in this case are 1:3. At the next stage, you need to add water in such an amount that the consistency of the mixture reaches the state of thick sour cream. To give the cement mortar the necessary color, a small amount of pigment is used (2.5% of the total mass of the composition).

Now the resulting composition is distributed over stencils. At this stage it is very important not to make mistakes. The solution should fill the mold no more than halfway so that there is enough space for the reinforcing component. Often, to enhance the strength properties of decorative tiles, a metal mesh is placed on top of the cement. Then it needs to be filled with the remaining amount of solution.

Then it is necessary to compress the composition in molds through vibration. After vibration compaction, you need to wait at least 24 hours for the solution in the stencils to harden to the required state.

How to make artificial stone with your own handsacrylic

To make acrylic decorative products, you will need an appropriate resin and a special hardener. Let's consider what other tools and materials will be needed when making artificial stone from these materials:

• electric drill (for mixing the components into a homogeneous mixture);
• copolymer powder;
• ready-made or homemade lubricant.

Note! Using an acrylic base also allows you to make artificial marble with your own hands. Thanks to the combination of polyester resin with mineral chips and coloring compounds, you can get very beautiful elements for wall decoration.

First of all, to make decorative acrylic stone, you will need to mix a polymer resin with a hardener. The proportion of these components in this case is 5:1. It is important to remember that after obtaining a mixture of these ingredients, its amount should correspond to 25% of the total volume of the compound.

Next, you need to add filler and coloring pigment to the acrylic mixture, which will take up the remaining 75% of the weight. Any mineral chips (for example, granite) can be used as the first one. The texture of the future facing material depends on its size. The color of the acrylic binder will be given by a pre-selected pigment. The amount of dye in this case is 2-6% of the total volume of the mixture.

To make decorative bricks with your own hands, you will need to fill the matrices with acrylic solution and wait approximately 24 hours. After this time, you can safely remove the finished tiles.

DIY liquid stone: gelcoat manufacturing technology

Of course, cast artificial stones have better physical properties, but liquid ones have one advantage. Thanks to gelcoat, it becomes possible to produce products that are complex in terms of shape. This material can be done independently at home.

The components required to make such a facing material are quite expensive. Today there are two simple technologies for manufacturing artificial stone of this type:

• creation of personnel;
• mixing the primer solution.

These methods differ from each other not only in composition, but also in the percentage of filler. For the primer mixture you will need to take 20% gelcoat (of the total mass of the solution). It is necessary to add one more ingredient - microcalcite, the share of which is 73%. Then 7% accelerator and 1% hardening agent are added to the above components.

In turn, you will have to spend exactly 2 times more gelcoat on the front composition, namely 40%. The proportion of accelerator and hardener in this case is also 7 and 1%. The mineral filler and coloring matter occupy the remaining mass of the solution. Hardening of liquid decorative stone occurs in 1 day.

Features of painting decorative stone

Today, there are two common methods that allow you to change the color of a homemade decorative stone. Adding special dyes is the most common method. Another option is to apply paint to the finished finishing material. Some people perform this procedure after laying cladding products.

If everything is clear with the first method, then it is recommended to pay attention to the second. To paint finished stones for wall decoration, special iron oxide compounds are used. Their price fully corresponds to the quality, which is quite acceptable.

Helpful information! Experts recommend applying iron oxide paints using a special pneumatic spray gun. If you don't have one, you can use a regular brush, but this will complicate the work.

There are several rules that should be followed when performing this procedure. For example, the color of artificial decorative stone should be lighter than the seams. It is strictly not recommended to use more than 3 shades for painting.

ABOUTdecorating walls with decorative bricks: preparatory stage

Before you begin laying decorative stone, you must first prepare the wall surface. It must be not only strong, but also smooth, so that there are no problems with gluing the facing products. The permissible deviation in this case is 1 mm per 1 m of wall. Masters advise adhering to this rule regardless of the type of finishing material.

Before you start finishing the walls with decorative bricks, you need to remove all old facing materials from them. These include the following: wallpaper, paint and plaster. To remove them, you can use a regular spatula. This tool is especially helpful when removing old wallpaper and paint.

Let's look at what tools and materials are needed to lay decorative bricks:

• glue;
• a reservoir in which the adhesive solution will be located;
• spatula for applying glue to the wall;
• crosses for seams;
• building level;
• grout mixture;
• hydrophobic composition and a tool for applying it (for example, a roller).

After acquiring all the necessary tools and materials, you should plaster the walls. It is important to remember that in this case it may be necessary to install a reinforcing mesh, which will strengthen the base for the decorative tiles. However, such a measure is necessary only when the weight of the artificial stone is too large. To lay thin decorative tiles under stone, there is no need for reinforcement. But in any case, you will have to eliminate wall defects.

You will need to apply a primer to the wall surface. This will strengthen the surface and enhance the adhesion effect of the facing tiles to it. Experts advise choosing a special primer for plaster.

Preparing the glue and applying the sketch to the wall

This type of stone requires the use of a special adhesive composition. To prepare such a building mixture, you will need to use ready-made powder and mix it in a certain amount of water. As a rule, along with the glue there are detailed instructions containing not only the proportions of the components, but also the time required for its production. In turn, laying decorative stone for exterior decoration is best done using cement mortar.

To install decorative non-natural stone, you can also use liquid nails. This mixture is able to provide the necessary adhesion to the wall. Some craftsmen even use cement mortar for indoor work. However, before applying it to the wall, PVA glue is first added to it.

Before you start laying decorative tiles with your own hands, you need to sketch a sketch on paper. It must take into account the area of ​​the part of the wall allocated for brick, as well as the following nuances: the presence or absence of a seam and the number of artificial stones. The best option is to transfer the sketch directly to the wall. Thus, the possibility of errors when laying this facing material is practically eliminated.

How to glue decorative stone: instructions

Laying such facing material is not particularly difficult, but requires appropriate care and precision. First of all, thick glue is applied to the wall. Its quantity should correspond to the width of the first row. After applying the adhesive, you must begin laying the stone. To do this, each element is first applied to the wall, and then pressed down. The excess solution released after pressing on the brick is simply removed from the wall.

Helpful information! If laying stone for a house is done end-to-end, then each subsequent element must be leaned tightly against the previous one. To organize the necessary seam, there are special delimiting elements - crosses. If you need to organize a larger distance between the facing products, then you can use plasterboard.

The best starting point is the corner of the room. It is necessary to lay the tiles gradually, one row at a time. It is important to remember that it is better to glue the tiles from the top, moving downwards. This will prevent the adhesive mixture from getting on already laid elements. To cut whole stones, as a rule, an ordinary grinder is used.

Some varieties of this decorative material are best glued to the wall with an offset. This simple step will allow you to achieve a more realistic result when finishing with artificial stone. Photos of various stylistic solutions will help you decide on the choice of color and texture.

After laying this finishing material, you must wait several days. During this time, the solution will completely harden and it will be possible to remove the auxiliary elements. It is also advisable to prepare a solution for grouting in advance. It is made from cement adhesive mastic and pigment substance. It is applied in two ways: using a special gun or using a sponge.

At the last stage, it is necessary to wipe the tiles to remove any particles of mortar that got on them during installation. You can apply a hydrophobic composition to such a stone. Its use is recommended in cases where artificial material is installed in rooms with high humidity. After application, it forms a durable film on the surface of the cladding.

The technology is very similar to the process of laying natural stone for interior decoration. However, there are also differences, since the structure and weight of the artificial material still differ from those of natural products.

Caring for decorative elements of this type is not difficult. All that is needed to remove dust and other contaminants is to wipe the tiles with a damp sponge.

Thus, artificial decorative stone can be purchased on the construction market or made independently. The process of its formation is not complicated. But if you are not confident in your own abilities, then it is better to buy ready-made material.

For several thousand years, natural stones have been used to decorate buildings and structures. Today this is a fairly expensive material, but it has an alternative - making artificial stone with your own hands at home. If all actions are performed correctly, it will look attractive, and its cost will be significantly lower.

Using stone in interior decoration can achieve unexpected results. It is perfect for decorating the entire room or its individual elements, such as a fireplace and columns. Making artificial stone with your own hands is not difficult, but you need to correctly follow the entire sequence of procedures.

In terms of mechanical resistance or other qualities, artificial stone is in no way inferior to natural stone. In addition, it has several important advantages:

There is a similar article on this topic - Bath stones: which ones are better to choose?

• At home, artificial products can be made in thin tiles. This will reduce the weight of objects, but at the same time maintain strength;
• When working independently, it becomes possible to make a stone of the required shape for a specific place;
• Its production can occur at the point of use, so transportation waste is eliminated;
• It is possible to obtain a smooth stone. This eliminates polishing costs;
• Artificial stone at home can be created in irregular shapes. This allows you to imitate the household stone variety.

Molds for making artificial stone can be purchased at a specialized store, but it is recommended to make them yourself. You need to start by choosing one of the samples. A stone is selected that matches not only its size, but also its shape.

Silicone is used for the main material. To make the mold you will need to take a box of suitable dimensions. It should be larger in shape than the stone taken as a sample. The box will act as formwork.

Afterwards, you need to apply a thick layer of grease to both the box and the selected sample. Then carefully place the stone at the bottom of the formwork. To increase productivity, it is recommended to create several boxes at once along with forms.

The next step is to pour silicone into the formwork. For subsequent compaction, you need to use a simple paint brush, previously soaked in a soap solution. After the final filling of the form, it is recommended to carefully level the entire surface using a spatula. It is also best to soak it in a soap solution.

The poured mold will dry for 15 days, and only after this period can the box be disassembled and the sample stone removed.

The result is ready-made silicone molds necessary for making artificial stone yourself. If small cracks or defects are found on the surface, it is recommended to additionally fill them with silicone.

Tip: Instead of soap, you can use a few drops of Fairy detergent to create a solution.

Making a mold, video:

Creation of artificial stone from gypsum

Materials

The technology for making artificial stone from gypsum is the most popular. At the preliminary stage, to create it, you need to prepare the following materials with tools:

• plaster in white;
• anhydride;
• warm water;
• river sand;
• a plastic container necessary for mixing all the elements together;
• pallet;
• matrix;
• electric drill;
• corrugated glass;
• water-based dyes.

To produce artificial stone from gypsum you do not need a large area. A few squares will be considered quite sufficient. To begin with, you should carefully consider the arrangement of your workplace; all racks and necessary shelves should be at hand. The next step of the work is preparing the gypsum solution.

Manufacturing technology

After preparing the workplace and creating silicone molds, you can begin creating it. To do this, below are instructions:

DIY polystyrene concrete. - there is more useful information here.

• To save money, you need to prepare an amount of solution that is equal to the number of forms. The gypsum dough cannot be left for use next time, as it quickly hardens and becomes unusable.
• You need to determine the proportions of water with gypsum yourself.
• After adding water, you need to pour plaster into a container specially prepared for this. You need to add it in small portions. This will allow you to obtain gypsum dough with normal thickness. The consistency of the solution should be thick. The liquid mixture takes longer to dry and has low strength.
• You can get a harder material by adding 10% sand to the mixture.
• The next step is to lubricate the working forms and their surfaces. In this case, wax and turpentine are used. This procedure is necessary; without it, it is difficult to remove the frozen stone from the mold.
• The preparation of this mixture is carried out in a water bath. This allows the wax to dissolve. Afterwards the substance is applied in a thin layer to the surface of the mold.
• When drying, shells may form on the stone. To protect against them, it is recommended to apply liquid plaster to the workplace. It is best to place stones on a pallet.
• To obtain a stone of a certain color, you need to mix paint with gypsum. This is recommended to be done at the stage of mixing the gypsum dough. To achieve this goal, it is best to use separate containers.
• Afterwards, you need to fill the main part of the stone into a special form. Using a spatula, carefully smooth out the mixture.
• The forms are covered with long corrugated glass, then vibration is carried out. This is a necessary stage of work for uniform installation. This process will take about two minutes.
• Hardening of the plaster takes about twenty minutes. The glass is easily separated from the mold, so there will be no difficulties with this activity. We take out the resulting product and let it dry completely in the open air. Heat treatment is not recommended, as it greatly spoils the performance of decorative stone made from gypsum.
• Upon completion of the process, the stone must be painted. It is necessary to prepare a brush along with special paint. To paint, you need to remove dust and similar dirt from the surface of the stone, then evenly distribute the coloring composition. After final drying, it is recommended to apply several more layers, this will allow you to obtain the desired shade.

Artificial stone made of cement

Required materials and tools

The production of artificial stone at home can be made not only from gypsum, but also from cement. This process will require the following tools and materials:

• Cement. It can be replaced with Portland cement;
• Warm purified water;
• Putty knife;
• Capacity in which the cement mortar will be prepared;
• Sand with small fractions, pre-sifted;
• Special composition, necessary for separation;
• Brushes and paints in a variety of shades and shapes;
• Molds for production and mesh, making the stone more durable.

All tools along with materials must be prepared in advance. This will save time, as well as quickly and efficiently complete the process associated with the production of stone for the facade.

You will be interested in this article - Pros and cons of aerated concrete blocks.

Artificial stone made from cement, video:

Manufacturing process

After completing the preparation of the form, the following several stages of work are carried out.

• The first step is to mix sand and cement.. This is necessary for the first layer. It must be applied to a silicone mold. The ratio of cement to sand will look like this: 1:3.
• Next you need to add a certain amount of water. The mass should be similar to the consistency of thick sour cream.
• If you intend to paint a ready-made artificial stone, you will not need to add any components. If it is already necessary to give a shade to the future product, then it is recommended to add dyes at this stage in an amount of 2.5% of the total volume of the solution. The amount of dye should vary depending on the desired color and its brightness.
• As a result, the resulting mixture should be laid out in the finished form, but only up to half.
• Next, the mesh is cut out from the outer mold. It is necessary to harden the stone. The mesh needs to be placed on the mixture, then topped with silicone.
• At the end of the pouring process, you need to draw a sharp element on the top layer to form a groove.. This will allow you to get excellent grip on the surface.

Apparently, the technology is simple and does not require the use of additional equipment. It is recommended to remove the stone from the mold only after 12 hours, and then leave it to dry again for two weeks. During this period, the material will finally gain the necessary strength. After completion of work, the mold must be thoroughly rinsed.

If no coloring components were added to the composition during the manufacturing process, then coloring can be completed during the manufacture of the stone. To do this, you need to clean its surface from dust and dirt. Apply paint evenly using a brush. To create shades, it is recommended to use paint with a darker base.

Artificial stone can be used for many purposes. This is an interior decoration, giving it a special zest and expressiveness. Creating it at home will not bring any difficulties, but in the end you will be able to get an excellent facing material.

Supplement the article with your comments, photos and video :

Artificial stone imitates natural stone, its color, texture, shape, and is made from gypsum or a cement-sand mixture with the addition of dye. You can make artificial stone at home; the technology is quite simple.

Artificial stone made from gypsum is used for cladding interiors, since gypsum is not a moisture-resistant material, products made from it are used for interior wall cladding. If you need to make stone for facade work, then sand-cement mortar is used instead of gypsum. In any case, the manufacturing technology is identical, the only difference is the composition of the solution.

Artificial stone is usually made in the form of rectangular tiles, which makes it easier to lay on walls and other surfaces.

Production of artificial stone from gypsum.

To make stone, the casting method is used; for this you will need matrix forms, which can be rubber, polyurethane or silicone.

Forms, of course, are on sale, but it will be cheaper to make them yourself. To do this, you need to purchase liquid silicone and several samples of artificial stone, all of which are sold in construction supermarkets.

We make molds for making artificial stone with our own hands.

Molds can be made from polyurethane or silicone; let’s take a closer look at the mold making process.

First, we need to make a formwork box for pouring the mold. The box can be made from used chipboard and wooden planks. The box must have a side height of more than 2 cm higher than the thickness of the stones. The boards can be screwed to the chipboard with self-tapping screws; the joints between the panel and the boards must be sealed with silicone sealant. If even one gap remains, the liquid silicone will then simply flow out of the box.

Samples of stones are placed at the bottom of the box with the textured surface facing up; there should be a gap of at least 1 cm between the stones. The stones must not only be laid, but fixed and glued to the bottom of the box. This can be done using silicone sealant or glue.

Then we open the surface of the stones and the entire surface of the box with a release agent, preferably using a wax-based lubricant. Leave to dry for 1 hour.

We mix two-component polyurethane or silicone with a hardener and pour it into the formwork with stones; the stones should be completely covered with a layer about 2 cm thick above the stones. In the photo, the mold is filled with polyurethane.

After the mass hardens, the formwork is dismantled and the stones are removed.

As a result, we received a reusable matrix for casting artificial stone.

In this way, it is possible to produce both a polyurethane matrix and a silicone one.

Technology for manufacturing artificial stone from gypsum.

Let's start making stones from gypsum. We cover the mold matrix with a release agent, it is possible without lubricant, but with lubricant the form will last much longer.

Then we take the dye and use a brush to randomly tint the shapes of the matrix to give the future stones a natural look.

Place the mold on a flat horizontal surface.

Mix the solution to the consistency of liquid sour cream. It is important to mix the solution correctly; if you mix it too liquid, the stones will crumble when removed from the matrix; if it is too thick, it will not be able to fill all the cavities and the stones will end up with air pores.

Composition of the mixture for artificial stone.

To make stone from gypsum, you can use the following composition:

• Plaster - 2 parts.
• Water – 1 part.

Another solution option:

• Gypsum – 5 parts.
• Water - 2 parts.
• Coarse sand (sifted) – 1.5 parts.

Composition of cement mixture for facade stone:

Coarse sand (sifted) – 6 parts.

• Cement M 400 – 3 parts.
• Water – 1 part.

Plasticizer (dosage according to instructions).

The dye is first mixed in water, and then added to the solution with water during mixing. You can additionally apply dye to the mold or then tint the finished stone.

Instead of plaster, you can use alabaster, you can try casting from plaster and from alabaster, then compare the result. Stones made from alabaster will be smoother, and from gypsum they will be rougher.

We gradually fill the mold with the solution, we need to try to ensure that the solution fills all the cavities in the mold.

The forms with the solution are left to harden; the hardening time of the gypsum solution is 20 - 30 minutes.

Stripping. Turn the form over and place it on a flat surface. We carefully lift the form by the edge and remove it, the stones are removed and remain on the table.

Manufactured artificial stone from gypsum can be used for decorative cladding of interior walls, and concrete for exterior use. If you make a stone yourself, it will cost several times less than buying a ready-made one.

Recently, many people increasingly want to decorate the walls with decorative stone in their apartment, but for some this is too expensive (from 800 to 1200 rubles per square meter), especially if a large volume is needed. But you can make the stone yourself at home and save a lot of money. Today I will tell you in detail about how to make a decorative stone with your own hands from plaster at home or in the garage with step-by-step photos.

From this article you will learn:

What is needed to cast stone?

What gypsum to use How to prepare for pouring How to calculate the amount of gypsum per form How to strip formwork How to dry stone A few tips from the author

High quality stone molds

Form "Leon"

Shape Leon, 0.25 m2

Palace stone

Palace stone

Americano form

Americano brick shape 0.1 m2

Leo Heraldic

Lion shape (panel)

German brick

German brick shape

Templar Cross

Templar Cross Shape

Sword Flamberge

Sword Flamberge Form

Wood brick

Shape Wood Brick

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Tools and materials

To produce decorative stone you will need:

1. Forms of the required type. High-quality and inexpensive forms can be purchased on our website formodeloff.ru;
2. Gypsum;
3. Drill or screwdriver with mixer attachment;
4. Scales;
5. Bucket;
6. Wide (40 cm) and narrow spatula (10 cm);
7. Scoop or ladle;
8. Water;
9. Spray;
10. Laundry soap;
11. Beaker.

You can make molds for decorative stone yourself or order them. At the beginning of my activity, I made the molds myself, using silicone compound, then I bought polyurethane molds, because... they are stronger.

It is better to use a rubber bucket for mixing - it will be easier to clean. If this is not available, then an ordinary plastic one with a flat bottom will do, it is advisable that it be as narrow as possible, otherwise the plaster will not mix well when mixed. Instead of a bucket, you can use any other container; some make the mixture in cut-off plastic bottles with a volume of 5-6 liters, others cut off a canister.

What kind of plaster is needed?

You can use any brand of building gypsum. There are expensive brands of gypsum, and there are cheap ones - what's the difference?

Gypsum Magma G6 B3

On a bag of plaster it is usually written, for example, “gypsum g-16” or “gypsum g-6”. The number means the hardness of the gypsum after drying, g-16 is a very strong gypsum, products made from it are more difficult to break than, for example, from g-6. If you are planning to make a stone for yourself (not for sale), then use the cheapest gypsum, yes, products made from it will not be as strong, but the gypsum is cheap and once you glue the stone to the wall, you will not break it.

If mass production for sale is planned, then it is better to use gypsum of a higher strength to make the stone stronger. The fact is that a stone can break during transportation, and imagine a situation where you made a delivery, the buyer checks the goods, and there are a lot of broken tiles.

For sale, some stone makers use cheap gypsum, adding various plasticizers and additives, such as SVV-500, to increase its strength. You can read about this here.

Join our group vk.com/kamnedelofff - There you can always ask a question and get an answer. Or just exchange experiences.

I also want to say about the color of the plaster. At first I used Samara gypsum g-16, the tiles turned out gray after drying. Now I use Magma G6 B3 (molding), after drying the color of the tiles is white. I like working with Magma, it is finely ground gypsum, hardens a little slower and costs 3 times less than Samara g-16.

Pouring stone

Preparation of the workplace

Before pouring the stone, the molds need to be wetted so that the stone is easier to remove. It is best to moisten with water diluted with laundry soap. Take the soap, grind it a little and pour it into warm water. Wait a little, shake and pour the solution into a spray bottle.

The table on which you will be pouring must be level, otherwise the tiles may turn out uneven. Place the mold on the table, spray it with a spray bottle so that it is well wetted, but not too much water.

Wetting the mold with soapy water

How to calculate the amount of plaster per mold?

If you have purchased molds, you can ask the seller how much plaster and water you need. But it also happens that, following the advice of the seller, you end up with a lot of mixture or the solution turns out to be too liquid or thick. A lot depends on what kind of water you have and the gypsum itself.

Ask a stone maker!

If you have any questions about plaster, molds or decorative stone, you can ask me a question in the comments.Ask a question

For example, I work, as I said above, with Magma G6, diluting it with water 1 to 1, i.e. I add 1 liter of water to 1 kilogram of gypsum, the mixture is perfect. A very good friend of mine also works with this gypsum, but he lives not in Russia, but in Kazakhstan and adds 0.8 liters of water to this amount of gypsum. Everyone's water is different and that's a fact.

Now I’ll tell you how I empirically determine the amount of ingredients for new forms. I take dry plaster, fill the mold with it, cutting off the rest with a spatula on top. Then I pour it into a bucket and weigh it. I remove about 30% from this amount. I dilute it with water 1 to 1 and fill it. If there is a lot of solution, then approximately “by eye” I remove the plaster and water in equal proportions and fill it again. If there is not enough mixture to completely fill the mold, then I add more, etc. In this way you can find out the required amount, the main thing is not to forget everything and write it down in a notebook.

By the way, I noticed this pattern: if for 1 mold, for example, you need 1 kg of gypsum and 1 liter of water, then it is not a fact that for 2 molds you will need 2 kg of gypsum and 2 liters of water. As practice shows, 2 forms require a little less of each ingredient.

Mixing and pouring process

Once you have determined the amount of plaster and water needed, take a flat bottom bucket and fill it with water.

Weighing gypsum

Then take a screwdriver with an attachment, lower it into the water and turn it on so that the speed is not too high. Then start pouring plaster from the second container. You should not immediately pour out the entire mass of plaster, as it will be impossible to stir it without lumps. Pour in the plaster slowly while stirring. The solution should be fluid and without lumps.

You shouldn’t stir the solution for too long, the plaster sets very quickly and you simply won’t have time to level it on the mold.

After this, take a bucket and pour the mixture into molds, first filling the bottom of all the tiles while the solution is thin. Add the rest on top and level it with a wide spatula. Do not press too hard on the trowel as the back of the tiles will be oval when dry.

After 1-2 minutes, go through the spatula again, because... the plaster begins to swell and the back side may turn out uneven.

Pouring decorative stone

Stripping

After 15-20 minutes you can do the unmolding. To do this, pull the form onto the edge of the table so that part of it hangs in the air. Pull it down until it separates from the stone and remove the tiles. Some specialists turn the mold over on the table and, as it were, remove not the stone from the mold, but the mold from the stone.

Finished stone after casting

How to dry stone?

If it’s summer outside and you have your own home, then the tiles can be laid out on the street or in a greenhouse (ideal), as in the photo.

This is the best way to lay the stone when drying

This way the stone will be well ventilated and dry quickly.

If you do not have such conditions, then you need to make a dryer. But again, if you are making a stone for yourself, then you can dry it by any available means, because... The process of creating a dryer is financially expensive. If you are planning production, then you cannot do without a good dryer.

You can make a dryer from metal profiles and cellophane, as we did here. On the sides there were 2 heaters of 2 kilowatts each. The disadvantage of such a dryer is that the stone was poorly ventilated and did not dry well. We soon remade it, but that's another story.

Our old dryer

Let's sum it up

So, you now know how to make decorative stone at home. For 1 square meter, you will need from 4 to 10 kg of gypsum. For example, some types of brick require 45 rubles worth of gypsum per square. Agree, this is very profitable than buying in a store. From a bag of Magma I get 7 square meters of thin brick.

Casting in several molds

• Make or buy larger molds so you can produce more stone in less time. The coolest forms with an area of ​​0.25 square meters. By filling 4 forms you will receive 1 sq. meter of finished product. Don't buy molds that are too thick; it's not profitable. For bricks, the maximum thickness should be in the range of 0.5 - 1 cm, for slates from 1 to 2.5 cm, depending on the type.
• Buy a scale. With scales you will have almost no waste, because... all proportions will be the same. I initially used a 700 gram scoop as a measuring stick. But it turned out that there were a lot of residues or, on the contrary, there was not enough solution.
• Use respirators when preparing the solution. You get a very unpleasant sensation when you inhale dust from plaster while mixing. And the lungs become clogged.
• Do not use high speed drills. Knead at low speed to avoid bubbles appearing on the surface of the tiles.
• Using a vibrating table is not necessary for making gypsum tiles, so don't worry about it.

Many of us consider artificial stone to be a new material, however, it has been known to people since time immemorial. Ordinary clay brick, cement, gypsum and lime mortar are varieties of artificial stone.

The popularity of this material began to grow after new polymer compositions and forms appeared that made it possible to use it for interior decoration and landscape design.

In particular, artificial stone can be used to make tiles for cladding walls and floors, steps and other elements of stairs.

It is used for the manufacture of countertops, decorative stucco and sculptural compositions, borders and paving slabs.

In terms of strength and durability, some types of artificial stone are not inferior to natural stone, surpassing it in ease of processing and ease of finishing. This material can be made into very thin tiles, which reduces its weight and reduces cost. For natural stone, such a thickness is unattainable due to its high fragility.

Not inferior to natural material in terms of color and variety of surface textures, artificial stone is more profitable to use for several reasons:

• it can be immediately made perfectly smooth, which eliminates expensive sawing, grinding and polishing operations;
• there is no need to transport it, since this material can be made with your own hands at the place of use;
• the amount of waste is minimal, since there are no losses for transportation and processing;
• In addition to a rectangular shape, it can be made figured or shaped, which allows you to finish surfaces exactly in place without additional adjustment.

Types of artificial stone

When considering the question of what artificial stone is made from, it is not difficult to choose a technology acceptable for use at home.

Depending on the raw materials and methods of processing, artificial stone is divided into the following types:

- Ceramic (tiles)– the manufacturing process requires the creation of high temperatures to roast raw materials and transform them into a monolithic conglomerate.

- Plaster (cast). It can be done at home. The costs of raw materials and production are minimal, however, such stone is suitable only for interior decoration, since it is not resistant to frost.

- Concrete molded. The cost of production is more expensive than gypsum, since the resource of molds for casting concrete is less. Suitable for self-production. Frost-resistant.

- Free-formed reinforced concrete. This artificial stone is made piece by piece, usually at the site of use (artificial cobblestones, boulders, slabs).

- Hot-curing polyester. In terms of its mechanical and decorative characteristics, it is superior to some types of natural stone, but the synthetic compound hardens only in a vacuum at elevated temperatures. It is not suitable for home production.

- Cold-hardening cast acrylic stone. Suitable for home production. In the temperature range from +175 to 210 it is thermoplastic, therefore it allows additional molding after casting.

How to make artificial stone with your own hands?

This requires two basic components: mold and casting mixture. The home technology for producing artificial stone can be implemented both in a factory-made polyurethane mold and in a home-made silicone one. It all depends on the total footage of the finishing and the budget allocated for this work.

The polyurethane matrix is ​​quite expensive, but it allows you to make several hundred high-quality impressions. Silicone mold is more suitable for small-piece stone production and home sculptural crafts. Its resource usually does not exceed 20-30 castings.

For making your own silicone molds a set of natural stone or tiles is laid out on a horizontal, stable and flat surface, having previously covered it with polyethylene. After this, a frame made of wooden slats or plastic is placed on it. The height of its sides should be 1-2 centimeters higher than the height of the copied material.

The surface of the tile and the inside of the sides are coated with solid oil or cyatim. You can take the cheapest silicone - acidic. It is squeezed out of the tube into the mold in a spiral, starting from the center to the sides until it is filled.

To prevent the formation of bubbles, the silicone is smoothed with a wide fluted brush. It needs to be dipped in a solution of dishwashing detergent. Soap solution is not suitable here because it is alkaline and can ruin the acidic silicone. After filling, the surface of the future form is smoothed with a spatula, also moistened with detergent.

Dry molds for making artificial stone at room temperature in a ventilated area. The drying rate of the silicone composition is approximately 2 mm per day.

Molding mixtures

Gypsum artificial stone

The mixture for gypsum stone is prepared from gypsum grades G5 - G7. It is made in small portions, counting on simultaneous filling of no more than two forms, since the setting time of this binder does not exceed 10 minutes.

Composition of the mixture: gypsum, citric acid to slow down hardening (0.3% by weight of gypsum), water - 60-70% of the volume of gypsum. The pigment is taken at the rate of 2 to 6% of the weight of the gypsum. The dosage of the coloring substance is selected on test samples of castings.

concrete stone

You can make artificial stone inexpensively and with high quality with your own hands from concrete. Unlike construction, here the initial composition of the components is slightly different: take 3 parts of cement for 1 part sand. The proportions of the pigment (you need to use an alkaline resistant one!) are the same as for gypsum stone.

The addition of polymer additives reduces the brittleness of this material and increases its abrasion resistance.

Cold hardening acrylic stone

This material is made on the basis of acrylic resin and hardener. The recommended volume of mineral filler to acrylic is 3:1. The amount of pigment is taken depending on the total weight of the filler (on average from 2 to 6%).

As an inexpensive filler, you can take gravel, stone chips or granite screenings. Before preparing the mixture, the filler is washed with dish gel, then calcined over a fire and rinsed with clean water.

The preparation process consists of three stages: first, the pigment is mixed with the filler. Then the acrylic resin is mixed with a hardener and a filler with pigment is added to it.

The time during which the acrylic mixture must be poured into the mold (from the moment the hardener is introduced into the resin) is no more than 20 minutes. The setting time of the mixture lasts from 30 to 40 minutes. The product requires 24 hours to completely harden.

If you are interested in countertops made of artificial stone, then the best materials for their manufacture are concrete or acrylic. The concrete product is heavier and does not allow you to create surfaces as varied in pattern as when using acrylic resin. However, the low cost of raw materials and the simplicity of the casting process partially compensate for this disadvantage.

Release agents

For different types of artificial stone, different compositions are used to separate the form from the product.

For gypsum stone, the optimal solution is one consisting of artificial or natural wax in turpentine in a ratio of 1:7. To do this, add wax shavings in small portions, stirring, to turpentine heated in a water bath to +50 - +60 C.

For concrete stone, conventional lubricants are used (litol, emulsol, cyatim). Before pouring the acrylic composition, the mold is lubricated with a solution of stearin in styrene (proportion 1 to 10) or cyatim.

When using a homemade silicone matrix, it must be protected from deformation that occurs when the hardening gypsum stone and acrylic resin are heated. To do this, before pouring the working mixture, it must be placed in a tray with fine dry sand so that the thickness of its layer is from 2/3 to 3/4 of the height of the mold.

Specialists involved in the development and search for new forms and materials for the design of building facades and landscape design strive to find cheaper and at the same time more attractive textures of stone cladding. Instead of heavy and capricious natural stone, quartzite, sandstone, synthetic or cast stone is widely used; production is much cheaper, and in terms of decorative capabilities the material is practically not inferior to natural. Moreover, the recipe allows you to make many types of artificial stones with your own hands, almost at home.

Is there any point in making artificial stone?

At all times, it was believed that a natural product is better than an artificial one, but, nevertheless, the demand for artificial stone is growing at an impressive pace, there are two reasons for this situation:

• High-quality natural stone is much more expensive than artificial imitation; there is little of it on the market, and only specialists can work with it. The material is very fragile and capricious, has a large number of hidden defects. The slightest chip or crack can negate all the work involved in laying expensive cladding;
• Artificial stone is easy to use, produced on an industrial scale, and you can make the desired color and surface texture with your own hands without unnecessary costs.

For your information! Using modern technologies, it is possible to make an artificial stone so realistic that only a specialist can distinguish it.

The only significant drawback of artificial stone is its low durability. Natural stone will last on the facade of a building for several hundred years, while artificial material can withstand 30-40 years with proper care and maintenance of the surface.

What is artificial stone

What is the difference between artificial stone and ordinary concrete casting, alabaster, lime block, polymer concrete and foamed clay? Nothing. The only difference is that the artificially formed, colored and hardened stone mass is first given the required shape and surface relief in a special way, tinted and saturated with special additives.

Artificial stone has a remarkable quality that distinguishes it favorably from natural material - the stone mass can be cast either directly into a mold, or using a more complex slip method. If you follow the technology, you can make very complex, beautiful and at the same time durable structures from artificial stone, for example, a stone sculpture or parts of a porch portico, balcony, window opening.

Approximately 80-90% of artificial stone is produced for facing work indoors and building facades. Imitation of shell rock, sandstone, natural quartzite, granite and even marble makes it possible to make the building frame almost indistinguishable from a building made from natural material.

Types of decorative artificial stone

All existing decorative materials based on artificial stone are divided into five main types:

• Cement-sand artificial cobblestones, massive blocks of semi-dry molding in compression molds and conventional concrete casting. In addition to simulating natural boulders, artificial sandstone can be made from a cement-sand mixture - plasterboard, stone paving stones imitating basalt, or entire blocks with a polished polymer coating under gabro;
• Fired and dry-pressed ceramic artificial stones. The most energy-intensive type of artificial stone. Widely used to imitate white limestone;
• Polymer artificial stones made by vacuum casting, impregnation or vibration pressing using stone dust and crumbs;
• Cast artificial stones based on gypsum and alabaster. Thanks to high casting qualities, it is possible to make blocks with exceptionally high relief quality;
• Composite artificial stones based on mineral gels.

Gypsum and polymer artificial stones are produced in the form of facing tiles for finishing interior spaces, porch groups, and decorating walls with stylized masonry with a torn surface texture. Polyester stone based on polyester resin is used for the manufacture of stone countertops, interior items and elements of exterior decor of building facades.

A relatively new type of artificial stone made from baked white clay with a high void content has only recently begun to be used for decorating bedrooms and living rooms. In addition to its attractive texture imitating shell rock, porous stone retains heat perfectly and, most importantly, provides very high sound insulation of the room.

What is artificial stone made from?

The properties and durability of artificial stone largely depend on the material and manufacturing technology. Modern methods of producing artificial stone are based on several basic technologies:

• Sintering of lime-clay mixture at high temperature;
• Curing of the stone mixture using cements, gypsum and alabaster;
• Saturation of stone chips or powder with polymer resins.

All three methods can be mastered to make artificial stone even at home. Naturally, you will need to make small equipment for molding finished slabs or blocks, firing or curing the mixture.

For your information! In addition, you will need to make a whole series of molds and injection dies to diversify the surface texture of the artificial stone.

A wall made of natural stone, such as flat sandstone, differs from a cladding made of artificial material, first of all, in its individuality. To make artificial stone cladding as similar as possible to natural material, up to a dozen casting molds with different surface patterns are used to make sandstone tiles.

Firing materials

The raw materials for the production of artificial stone are bentonite white clays with a small amount of lime and a blowing agent. After careful pressing using a hand press, the stone is smooth as a brick.

After firing, most of the lime decomposes with the formation of carbon dioxide, and the smooth surface of the artificial stone turns into a spongy surface, riddled with pores, like a crust of bread.

You can even make shell rock in a coal kiln, but most often craftsmen prefer to lay out the firing kilns separately. This makes it possible to improve the quality of the artificial ceramic production process.

Foundry mixed artificial stones

Making imitation natural stone from cement-sand mixtures is considered the simplest and most affordable for home production. To work, you will need to buy a vibrating table and make casting molds with your own hands.

After the mixture has cured, the finished block is removed from the mold, dried, the pattern is trimmed, painted and laid out to complete the shrinkage processes for at least 5-10 days. This type of artificial stone is often called stone casting.

The production of artificial stone based on gypsum is somewhat different from stone casting. The formulation of a gypsum-based stone mixture may differ in the addition of set retarders and the use of additives in the form of granite dust and fiber fiber.

One of the most popular recipes involves the use of white cement as an additive. In practice, two-component systems turn out to be very brittle and caustic, since the gypsum quickly binds water, and the cement part does not have time to react completely.

It is quite simple to make an artificial stone based on polymer resins, for example, epoxy ED5M, modified gelcoat, polyester mass Estromal A200 or thixotropic resin Cristic 412COS, specially designed for the production of polymer concrete.

For your information! Artificial stones, not inferior in appearance and strength to granite or hyper-pressed tiles, were made back in the 19th century, without any presses, ovens, or polymer resins.

Artificial stone for all times

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, a concrete substitute was widely used, more precisely, artificial stone based on mineral gel. A distinctive feature of artificial material is that you can make it yourself in an ordinary bucket or trough, without vibrating machines or a kiln.

The following set of components was used for manufacturing:

• Liquid glass - sodium silicate;
• Calcium chloride;
• Sand;
• Water.

In order to make an artificial stone, it was necessary to make a collapsible wooden form, the inner surface of which was covered with a facing material, for example, granite gravel, or tiled. Next, you need to knead the components without adding water. To make the mixture more plastic, the sand was slightly moistened with a soap solution.

After the initial components have been thoroughly mixed, you need to put the material into a mold and spray it with water. Each layer was carefully compacted as it was laid. After the mold was filled, it was immersed in water. A day later the mold was dismantled to make a new batch.

The strength of the stone mass, by modern standards, corresponded to concrete made from M800 cement.

How to make a pouring mold

The quality of the surface and the strength of the artificial stone depend on how correctly the design and material of the mold are selected. Making the right choice is quite simple if you take into account the properties of the material from which the filling will be made.

Most often used to form a casting:

All three types of molds are used as equipment for small-scale and mass production of artificial stone for finishing needs. For individual production, wax-paraffin molds are used, for example, if you need to make a polymer-granite countertop or an imitation of solid stone for arranging a window sill with your own hands.

If it is necessary to make an artificial facing stone with a thin mesh pattern or inclusions of precious metal, metal casting dies are used. This design allows you to reproduce graphics of almost any complexity on polished stone, including inscriptions or brand marks.

Polymer granite tiles with stamp imprints are widely used for tiling bathrooms and baths to emphasize the quality of the materials used.

Requirements for forms

Making a mold for the production of high-quality facing stone is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The casting matrix into which the mixture will be poured must have a certain rigidity and not deform under load. Most silicone or butylene styrene stamps and molds can only withstand pressure from relatively thin tiles. In this case, the form should be in a horizontal position. If you pour artificial stone into a vertical form, the so-called duplex, then deformations in the pattern of the material will inevitably appear. Even a frame or sand cushion cannot save you.

In addition, the mold material must not absorb water, binders, or react with additives such as alkalis or citric acid. If a vibrating table is used in the production of artificial stone tiles, then the mold must be made collapsible; in other cases, a monolithic silicone matrix is ​​best suited.

It is recommended to make a mold for casting artificial stone with intermediate varnishing of the surface; this complicates the separation somewhat, but ensures an almost glossy quality of the facing tile. For a torn texture, silicone or polyurethane, on the contrary, is grained with sand to emphasize the fracture of the stone.

Wooden forms

Casting boxes and molds made of thick plywood are most often used for two types of artificial stone castings:

• If it is necessary to make a volumetric casting;
• In the manufacture of countertops, stone shelves and window sills with the most flat and even surface of the stone.

For your information! Waterproof bakelite plywood with a laminated surface is better suited. Flat and box structures are also used for laying full-size volumetric forms.

For example, when making parts of stucco or bas-relief, small figurines, elements of monuments made of artificial marble, a detachable silicone model or a wax mold with a clay coating is used. The mold is placed in a wooden box and covered with sand, after which the wax is melted out and the space is filled with a stone mixture.

If you have several fragments of foam insulation boards on hand, then it is quite possible to make a wooden mold for casting artificial stone without any silicone or other polymer resins. To form the broken texture of the crushed stone, the edges are cut off and folded into a bag so that the foam matrix does not fall apart; the set is pierced along the edges with nails.

The resulting blank is coated with acrylic varnish and dried, then a casting box must be made from a wooden board or plank according to the dimensions of the foam matrix. The print is installed instead of the bottom of the box and covered with several strips. The finished mold is painted with waterproof paint and filled with the mixture.

In the simplest version, you can make a mold - a stamp for casting facing tiles made of artificial stone with wood embossing from several wooden planks selected according to the texture and pattern of the fibers.

Silicone forms

If you need to finish the corner of the basement of a house with a small strip of artificial stone tiles, then there is no point in purchasing an expensive polyurethane mold; it is easier and faster to make a casting matrix for several dozen tiles with your own hands.

To form the matrix, you need to make a box from OSB, plywood or even cardboard glued with tape. The height of the box is 60-65 mm, the dimensions, as a rule, are limited to 60x70 cm. This is enough to cast 4-5 tiles from artificial stone. The larger the mold, the more silicone and time it will take to make.

The initial model of the surface of the future stone is placed on the bottom of the box. It can be broken polystyrene foam, wood, brick, ceramic tiles, or a very beautiful and effective multi-layer print “Leon”,

This texture can be made from several layers of plastic or plywood folded in a bag. Any version of the matrix, regardless of what material it was made from, is coated with oil or alkyd varnish and thoroughly dried. If the base is made of polystyrene foam, then drying oil or heat-treated “boiled” oil varnish is used as a protective coating.

The material used for the mold is one-component acrylate silicone with a low degree of polymerization. Sold in tubes, polymer sausages and plastic buckets, it looks like old thickened CMC glue. It is easily recognized by its vinegary smell. It does not conduct water, but it allows water vapor to pass through very well. This is its most important characteristic.

You can, of course, make a casting mold for a concrete artificial stone from a denser and tougher two-component silicone, in the hope that the silicone matrix will be enough for a couple of hundred castings instead of the required three dozen. But a problem arises: if you pour a cement-sand mixture into dense silicone, it will harden for at least 4 days before the mold can be removed.

The matrix and walls are lubricated with technical petroleum jelly, after which the space is squeezed out or filled with silicone mass. To make a mold, a dense silicone mass is pressed into the matrix with a spatula moistened with a soap solution.

If it is necessary to make a silicone mold for an artificial stone based on a polymer resin, then the silicone is heated and, if possible, dried. In industrial and laboratory conditions, silicone mass under artificial stone is subjected to vacuum, as in the video

Polyurethane molds

The silicone mold is enough for 30-40 artificial stone castings. In practice, even small façade finishing works require at least one and a half to two hundred tiles just for the plinth adjacent to the entrance of the building.

If you need to make a mold for making artificial stone for sale, it is best to use cast polyurethane resins with chemical curing to form the matrix. Silagerm No. 5035 is now available on our market, specially designed for the production of impressions, matrices and injection molds.

Before pouring, the surface of the matrix is ​​covered with a separating layer of silicone or more viscous Tiprom 90. After mixing with the hardener, you need to fill it with polyurethane resin within an hour, the final readiness of the mold is after 24 hours.

For particularly complex forms, molding polymer Poly 74-29, made in Germany, can be used for pouring artificial stone mass. The fairly expensive material has a very low viscosity, so the mold can be made for a matrix with the most complex surface. True, the cracks and joints will first have to be sealed with mastic or covered with plasticine.

After mixing with the hardener, the polyurethane mass acquires a yellow color and the consistency of very liquid sour cream. The mixture is left for 10-15 minutes to remove air and poured into the mold in a thin stream.

The polyurethane compound material will need to be smoothed with a spatula or sharp object for 10-15 minutes to facilitate the removal of air bubbles. After a day, the filled form can be carefully removed from the matrix.

How to remove the mold

In order to remove the made polyurethane mold, you need to carefully open the locks or remove the fasteners holding the walls of the wooden box. If the sides are made of paper, then you can simply cut them off with a sharp knife.

It will be difficult to separate the sidewalls from the polyurethane foam mold, even if their surface was previously covered with a separating layer. The developers of the casting compound Poly 74-29 suggest spraying the walls and bottom of the mold several times with a special silicone liquid in an aerosol form Pol-Ease2300. The oil penetrates into the smallest pores and facilitates the process of separating the polyurethane from the matrix.

The silicone mold for artificial stone is removed from the matrix only by turning it, as in the photo.

Along one of the edges of the soft silicone cushion, you need to make a shallow cut with thread or a sharp knife. An aluminum strip is inserted into the cut, the edge is pressed with your fingers, and the faux stone tile mold is removed from the matrix like an orange peel.

Manufacturing of artificial stone

It is not difficult to make a beautiful and at the same time durable artificial stone, provided that the technology and mixture recipe are followed. An exception may be the preparation of artificial polyester stone; it is extremely difficult to make it at home. To work with polyester resin, at a minimum, you need special equipment, preferably thermostated, and a vacuum chamber.

Artificial stone made of cement

The simplest recipe for a dry mixture for preparing artificial stone with a cement-sand bond is as follows:

• Cement grade 400, only fresh, not older than a month from the date of issue - 30%. It is best to mix with Turkish white cement, this will eliminate problems with color loss after the vibrating table;
• Sand, sifted, washed, fraction 0.1mm -50%. The sand should be round, river sand. According to the original recipe, the sand mass is slightly acidified with hydrochloric acid;
• Glass or silicon dust with granite screenings - 18%. If you add ground silicon to the mix, the artificial mass will turn out very similar to natural granite;
• Dry laundry soap - 1%.

Advice! If it is not possible to use white cement, you can mix it with regular gray cement, but the surface of the mold is rubbed with titanium white before pouring the working mass.

You can additionally calculate water consumption, but in practice water is introduced in very small doses, approximately 80% of what is required to make a concrete screed. The ingredients are initially mixed and dried for 15-20 minutes, and only then water and dye are added. The mixture is kneaded by hand; as soon as the viscosity begins to increase rapidly, the mixture is placed in a mold and placed on a vibrating table.

If you need to make facing tiles, a couple of minutes before turning off the vibrator, lay a mesh or plastic grid on the back side of the poured artificial stone.

Often they try to strengthen the strength of artificial stone tiles with the help of polypropylene fiber or gravel screenings. In practice, it is known that it is best not to make reinforcement or limit it to asbestos fiber. The same applies to gravel screenings; the more homogeneous and monolithic the mass, the stronger the artificial stone texture.

Artificial gypsum stone

The preparation of artificial gypsum stone is much simpler, if only because gypsum does not shrink and discard the dye as much as the alkaline environment of a cement-sand mixture.

In order to fill one silicone mold, you will need the following materials:

• High-strength gypsum GVVS16 - 5 kg;
• Pure water - 1.6 l;
• Sand with grains of granite, crushed silicon or glass - 1.8-2 kg;
• Deoxidizer, water 200 ml + 0.3% dry lemon;
• Acid tinting compounds - 200 ml, yellow - 40g, black - 40-45 g.

Important! Information on the content of mineral dye is given as an estimate and requires practical verification.

According to the recipe, water is poured into the container, dyes are added in small portions, after which you need to take a break for 5 minutes to dissolve the chemicals for coloring the artificial stone. In the second stage, gypsum and sand are then added; as the ingredients are poured into the water, the mixture must be constantly mixed with an electric mixer. You can do it differently, pre-mix the gypsum with the filler, and only then add water.

Next, using a narrow paint brush, apply dry pigment to the surface of the silicone mold and fill the artificial stone mold with plaster mass. This must be done no later than 5 minutes after pouring the last portion of plaster. After a day, the material is carefully peeled off from the mold and sent for surface painting.

You can make an opalescent artificial stone from alabaster, glass powder, titanium white and PVA. Glass filler can be made from any colorless fragments; approximately 30% of the weight of alabaster will be required. The mixture hardens quickly, so you need to make a deoxidizing agent from citric acid.

Using the same recipe, you can make artificial marble, only instead of glass powder, marble powder with titanium white is added to the mixture. After hardening, the surface of the artificial stone is sanded and polished.

Artificial acrylic stone

To cast artificial stone, you will need a two-component acrylic compound, resin and hardener. In a clean, dry container, mix the resin with the hardener and add dry mineral dye in small portions; it is better to use the Bayer branded color or any other well-known company. A good toner is half the solution to the problem.

For your information! It is better to mix the resin by hand; if you fill and stir the acrylic mass with a mixing attachment, you will get a large number of air bubbles, which, after pouring and curing the artificial stone, will turn into cavities on the surface of the casting.

Next, fine filler is poured into the polymer matrix, coarse filler is placed directly into the mold, and you can make the first pour with acrylic. 5-7 minutes after the vibration stand, you need to make the final pour of the material, and then send it for curing for at least a day.

Quartz artificial stone

There is a separate category of artificial stone, which can be made using epoxy resin or ship varnish gelcoat. If you make a stone mass based on ground quartz or marble, you can get a beautiful translucent material, very similar to natural jadeite or chalcedony.

Most often, ground quartz for artificial stone is purchased ready-made, while pouring can be done without any preparation. Homemade ground stone or coarse sea sand is thoroughly washed using water with the addition of “White” or an alcohol-acetone mixture. If this is not done, the quartz stone will turn out weak and will crack and crumble.

Vibration stand

A simple and at the same time effective device, without a vibration stand it is almost impossible to make artificial stone durable, without cavities and bubbles. All cement-sand and polymer artificial stone masses are compacted on a vibrating table.

Making a vibration stand is not much of a problem. The basis is a round tabletop made of plywood 20-30 mm thick, which is laid on polyurethane cushions, even on a regular bench. A pair of electric motors with eccentrics are placed at the edges. The engine is placed vertically to make the stand oscillate predominantly in the horizontal plane.

How to paint artificial stone

Coloring of artificial stone is carried out depending on the material used. For most artificial stone formulations, the material can be tinted in three ways:

• Coloring with proprietary mineral dyes when forming a batch;
• Painting a silicone or polyurethane mold with paint before filling with stone mass;
• Applying toner to the finished artificial stone surface.

For cement-sand castings, in order to remove the gray concrete tone, the mold is rubbed with titanium white before pouring the mass. After removing the artificial stone from the mold, the surface is painted with liquid toners based on iron, nickel and chromium salts.

Laying artificial stone with your own hands

The process of laying ceramic, gypsum and cement-sand artificial stone is carried out in exactly the same way as gluing conventional facing tiles. Concrete and cement-sand stones are treated on the back side with a deep penetration primer. The backing of quartz and acrylic tiles is rubbed with coarse sandpaper to roughen the surface.

Preparing the walls

The surface for laying artificial stone does not need to be particularly leveled; you can make a thin rough sublayer of cement plaster based on M400 with anti-shrinkage additives. After 2-3 hours, you need to make marks on the wall with a roller to increase the adhesion strength of the stone to the base.

If the artificial stone tiles are very heavy, then fastening is done using dowels or pieces of chopped wire with a diameter of 3-4 mm.

Gluing technology

Tiles made of artificial quartz stone, any materials based on gypsum and a polymer matrix are best glued using tile mass with the addition of acrylic glue. For epoxy and acrylic artificial stone, adhesive masses are used based on the same resins that were used for filling molds.

To lay heavy artificial stones filled with granite or basalt, you first need to make a row of several brackets. To do this, drill and hammer plugs into the wall along the marked line, insert wire staples and rub the edges with alabaster. You can make a whole row along the entire wall so that the heavy tiles do not fly off until the glue hardens.

Grouting joints

To seal the seams, use the same material as for gluing stone tiles. Part of the adhesive mass is hermetically sealed and placed in a cool place, maybe even in the refrigerator. After 5-7 hours, the seams are sealed with tape, cut with a knife, and the joints are filled with a syringe gun. After the glue has hardened, the tape is removed and the surface of the artificial mass is brushed.

Conclusion

It is very difficult to make high-quality cast material with your own hands the first time. You have to experiment before you can make the front surface completely covered with granite or marble filler. Only in this case can the cladding be made beautiful and at the same time durable. To provide protection for concrete and gypsum tiles, the surface must be coated with stone varnish or impregnated with water-repellent silicone-based mixtures every 4-5 years.

Natural stone has been used in building and interior decoration for thousands of years. However, now such material is very expensive. However, there is a way out. You can make an artificial stone with your own hands, and it will be practically no different from natural stone. The price of such a product will be much lower than a natural one.

Using stone in interior decoration allows you to achieve completely unexpected results. You can decorate the room in the style of a knight's castle, a fireplace framed by slate will look especially attractive, and columns trimmed with stone will be beautiful.

However, with all its wealth of shapes and colors, natural stone also has disadvantages. These include:

• high price;
• heavy weight, not every wall can withstand such additional load;
• significant transportation costs.

In order to be able to use stone in interior decoration and overcome the described disadvantages, the technology for manufacturing artificial stone was created.

Cladding using artificial stone

Externally, natural and artificial stone are practically indistinguishable, at the same time, the latter is devoid of all the disadvantages of natural stone and can be made with an imitation of any natural stone, and even its texture is repeated. According to the type of surface, artificial stone can be:

• chipped, as if beaten with a hammer and having an uneven surface and edges;
• sawn, having smooth, even edges;
• rubble, reminiscent of ordinary natural boulders;
• arbitrary, embodying the designer’s fantasies in form and surface;
• decorative.

For specific design tasks, a wide variety of surfaces may be required - for finishing a fireplace, arches, columns. Rocks with nautical themes, such as shell marks, may be required. So, when making artificial stone with your own hands, you can get exactly what is needed according to the requirements of the plan for finishing a specific surface. One of the most popular types of stone is slate.

What is artificial stone made from?

Strange as it may seem, there are several different options for making stone. One technology uses cement, fine sand, and water. According to another, they are made of plaster or alabaster. There is a manufacturing option when polymer materials are used as a binder. Therefore, the composition of artificial stone for production on your own can be determined based on the available materials and capabilities for producing stone.
The entire manufacturing procedure is not overly complicated and can be performed by anyone with some effort and careful adherence to technology. You don’t even need special conditions for this; work can be done directly in the apartment. Therefore, the material proposed below can be perceived as a kind of instruction for making artificial stone.

Manufacturing process

The main materials for making stone, as noted above, are cement and gypsum, or alabaster. In any option, using gypsum or cement, making artificial stone with your own hands begins with selecting an initial sample and creating a mold in which the stone will be cast in the future.

Having several such models, you can quickly produce the required amount of stone. As a model stone, it would be justified to purchase several stone samples of suitable shape and size from the store.

Although you can also use commercially available ready-made silicone models. They are a ready-made kit for making artificial stone.

How to make a model

The production of the mold begins with the selection of a sample, for the role of which a stone of suitable shape and size is selected. Silicone is used for the mold in which the stone will be cast later. Make or use a suitable sized box, slightly larger than the size of the sample stone. This box will serve as formwork.
It and the selected stone must be coated with a thick layer of grease or some other lubricant. The stone is placed at the bottom of the box. Several such formworks and forms need to be made to increase productivity.

After this, silicone is poured into the formwork. To compact it, tamp it with an ordinary paint brush moistened with a soap solution. For the latter, you can use regular Fairy. After filling the mold with silicone, the surface is leveled with a spatula moistened with Fairy.
The poured forms dry for two to three weeks, after which the formwork is disassembled, the sample stone is removed, and ready-made silicone molds for artificial stone are obtained. If there are small defects on the surface, they are sealed with silicone.
True, here too there is an alternative option for making a mold, but we can return to this a little later, after we fully consider the technology for manufacturing artificial stone that has been started.

Extraction from cement

At this stage, the work is performed in several passes. Initially, cement and sand are mixed for the first layer in a ratio of 3:1, everything is mixed until a homogeneous mixture is formed. The desired color is obtained by adding dyes, approximately 2-3% of the amount of cement, but this must be established experimentally. Add water to the finished mixture and stir until it is approximately thick like sour cream; the dyes are mixed with water.

The resulting mixture is poured into the mold about halfway and compacted by tapping and shaking for about a minute. Then a metal mesh is placed on top of the finished mortar to give additional strength to the stone and filled with a second layer of mortar. To save money, you don’t have to add dye to the second batch of concrete.

After pouring, make small grooves on the top layer of the mortar with a nail or any stick for better adhesion to the wall during installation. As can be seen from the described technology, it is quite simple and allows you to do without special equipment for the production of artificial stone.

After twelve hours, the stone is removed from the mold and left to dry and gain strength for two weeks. After removing the stone, the mold is washed with Fairy; this procedure must be repeated after each pour.

Manufacturing from gypsum

It should be noted that the production of artificial stone from gypsum is carried out in the same sequence. There are only nuances related to the fact that gypsum hardens quickly. Therefore, it must be prepared as much as is needed to make one stone, then a new portion must be diluted. To slow down the setting, citric acid can be added to the plaster.

The holding time for the material to harden will be different; this procedure takes several tens of minutes. Before pouring gypsum into the mold, it is necessary to lubricate it with oil so that the finished stone can be easily removed from the mold.

If you have the desire and opportunity, then using the described technology you can organize the production of artificial stone with your own hands. Moreover, stone made from cement can be used for both interior and exterior decoration.

Artificial stone coloring

When making the stone, we added dye to its composition. However, you can simply paint it after making it. This requires special paint and a brush of any size. The painting process is as follows:

1. it is necessary to wipe the surface of the stone with a clean rag and remove sand, dust, cement;
2. apply an even layer of paint to the front surface with a brush;
3. After the paint has dried, a second and third layer can be applied to achieve the desired shade.

Alternative manufacturing options and training materials

Now you can consider the option of how to make an artificial stone without using a sample and silicone. All this is shown in the video:

As can be seen from the above example, you can do without any expensive materials at all.
It should be noted that the stone can be made using ready-made kits. They include a ready-made polyurethane mold. How to make such products with its help, in the following video:

Artificial stone, installation

Artificial stone can be mounted on virtually any surface, including wood and plasterboard. When installing stone on wood, special surface preparation will be required; additional moisture insulation and sheathing will be necessary. At the same time, when installing stone on brick or concrete, no additional work is required, only leveling the surface.

Fastening the stone to the wall can be done using cement mortar or using special adhesive solutions or special types of glue. Installation can be done with or without jointing.

When installing with jointing, a gap remains between the stones; its size should not exceed 2.5 centimeters, which is then filled with grout. This option is more economical, but for some types of stone laying with jointing is simply not suitable; they need to be laid only completely.

Before installation begins, the stones are laid out on the floor and their best location is selected, adjusting to each other if necessary.

Laying stone begins with corner elements, then around window and door openings. And only after this the installation of horizontal rows is carried out.

The process of installing stone can be seen in the video:

It should be noted that additional care for surfaces lined with artificial stone is not required. As a protective measure, you can protect the wall from excessive moisture. This is done using special compounds. After application, they make the stone water-repellent.

Do-it-yourself artificial stone is an excellent opportunity to achieve very impressive results in interior decoration by using such an extraordinary material. And you can do all this yourself without significant costs or the use of special equipment.