Decorating your home with artificial stone by your own is easy!

Do you want to give to your home a new look? Do it by yourself, with artificial stone is very easy and quick, with no need to hire a contractor. Pietraeco is the line of artificial stone by Rastone srl, produced starting from the best raw materials on the market. The large collection is born by a simple idea: through careful analysis, capture and amplify qualities and advantages of natural stone, eliminating its negative features, thus creating an innovative material through a complex production process that has been perfected over the years. Decorating your home with Pietraeco’s material is easy in every step: from spreading the first layer of Ecocolla till cleaning and maintenance after installation. Let’s get a look at fundamental steps for an optimal installation. Design the rooms:  Due to the fact that artificial stone has a mainly aesthetic and not structural purpose, there are some valuable tips to consider by renovating and decorating your home to keep the final work as much credible and realistic as possible, consistent with the load-bearing function of natural stone: 1. Stones must be laid with the long side horizontal 2. Horizontal joints can vary in lenght, while vertical joints must be interrupted and not continued beyond the height of the single stone 3. To get a realistic and harmonious effect by windows and doors the edges must be covered with corner elements or must be created a frame around them 4. If you want to cover only a part of the wall you must ensure that Pietraeco artificial stone cladding is recessed into the wall Prepare the base specifically: Artificial stone can be installed directly to untreated rough walls, mortar, properly anchored coatings able to support a covering weighting between 30 and 80 kg/m². Other surfaces (e.g. plasterboard, reinforced concrete, plaster, wood, etc.) require adequate preparation of the substrate. Consult the technical guide to find out how to prepare the substrate. Install artificial stone: Laying of artificial stone is very easy thanks to Ecocolla, a specific glue. Once you prepared the mixture you have only to spread a layer of glue on the wall. Then you have to spread a layer of glue on the entire back of the stone (thus optimising adhesion and reducing water absorption), pressing it firmly on the wall with pression and small movements Level, repair or seal any holes: Finish the joints of Pietraeco artificial stone with Ecostucco! Using the special “sac a poche” bag supplied by PIETRAECO, apply the grout to the bottom of the joint and work it up to the desired level. Be careful not to let it drip onto the stone, as this will damage it and cause permanent staining. Following these few quick steps, you can give your indoor and outdoor spaces a whole new look all by yourself. With artificial stone for indoor and outdoor use, decorating your home has never been easier! Download the technical guide for more detailed information Do you need inspiration? Get a look a tour casestudies and give new life to your roomsFollow us on Facebook and Instagram to be always updated!

Walls with reconstructed stones: tips and instructions for a realistic laying

Always associated with the concept of solidity and endowed with a timeless charm, stone gives environments a natural and enveloping style, increasingly sought after in the architectural and design industry. Designing walls with reconstructed stones today is the ideal solution to reconcile the style needs of the creative minds of the design world and the desire of the sector to use eco-sustainable and low environmental impact materials. Seeking perfection to achieve excellence in every project, through innovative and top-quality finishes, is the goal in every reconstructed stone wall signed by Rastone. To create excellent reconstructed stone walls, the artisan experience of the layers plays a fundamental role. The knowledge of the best laying techniques and the dedication to the attention to detail of the artisan layers of Rastone allows the creation, in the installation phase, of unique and impeccable walls tailored to the needs of each customer. Instructions and tips from layers for the installation of Pietraeco Laying on windows and openings The light from the windows and the harmony of the reconstructed stones find their maximum enhancement with the laying of Pietraeco in the corners with angular elements. Another solution could be to create a border frame the thickness of the stone, so as to cover its limited thickness. Laying of reconstructed stone on archs The reconstructed stone is not laid for structural purposes, but, to make the final work as credible and consistent with the load-bearing function of the natural stone, some suggestions can be adopted. To make the installation on the arches realistic, it is important to remember to position the Pietraeco transversally, as is done on load-bearing walls in natural stone where the load of the forces must always be distributed transversally. Partial laying on walls Deciding to cover just one portion of a wall with reconstructed stone is an interesting stylistic choice, which can prove to be a winning one if you want to place a particularly valuable object, such as a painting, on it. In this case it is important that the Pietraeco cladding is recessed into the wall, so that the elements blend perfectly and make the final work as truthful as possible.

A functional aesthetic thanks to Pietraeco reconstructed stones

Pietraeco reconstructed stones, charming design and extraordinary functionality Functionality is a necessary condition, perfect aesthetic is an added value. The combination of these two elements enables the creation of an innovative and effecient product. Why Pietraeco reconstructed stone is a functional and aesthetic perfect product? Pietraeco reconstructed stones are the result of a skillful artisanal study, aimed not only to a realization excellent in aesthetic but also perfect in funcionality. Easy to install and to maintain Pietraeco installations boasts extreme ease of installation, from the spreading phase of the first layer of Ecocolla to the positioning of the single stones with the double spreading technique. Maintainance and cleaning are also really easy. Suitable for installation on thermal insulation The Functionality of a product is also based on its capacity to adapt to the place on which it is installed. The extrem lightness of ecological stones, usually with a weight betwwn 10 and 50 kg/sqm according to the model, makes their installation perfect for example on building coats for thermal insulation. The feature that makes Pietraeco perfect for installation on thermal insulation is not only its lightness, but also its perfet breathability, that enable the natural passage on any condensation ensuring that the wall breathes and remains always dry. Resistant and long-lasting Reconstructed stone, thanks to its expertly composed mixture of Portland cement, quarry aggregates, pumice stones and colored mineral oxides is extremely resistant and durable. Each internal and external wall realized with reconstructed stones gives an unmistakable solidity. All materials are carefully selected to resist to any type of external stress agent and to bad weather, ensuring long-lasting to each wall without any alteration.

How is a wall with Pietraeco reconstructed stone born?

The realization of unique reconstructed stone walls in 4 steps The huge attention in every production phase is what distingueshes every wall made with Pietraeco reconstructed stone. 1. FEASIBILITY STUDY During the first step of the creation of walls with reconstructed stones the focus in on the feasibility study of the project and on the analysis of all preliminary aspects and necessary costs for the realization of the architectural idea. The wall is a white canves and the installers are the artists that should create the work; to do this it is necessary to have clear idea and to be sure that all aesthetic and constructive items will be possible. 2. DESIGN During the design, i.e. the most “creative” phase of the whole process, we choose the best Pietraeco stones considering different items such as the context of installation, the style of the property or the internal design of the house. By Pietraeco reconstructed stones creativity is limitless, because it is available in different colors and forms that can be mixed among them in a limitless way. 3. PRODUCTION After having defined the perfect mixture to be used on walls, Pietraeco models will be produced by craftsmen through an artisanal process. For their creation there is the selection of the best raw materials to get a perfect aesthetic and functional realization and of the nest mineral oxides used to the manual coloring of each single stone. All components will be then mixed together in order to obtain an uniquem sustanalbe and long-lasting product. 4. PRODUCTION At the end there will be the installationd of reconstructed stones. In this last step the installers prepare the walls, manage the works and grout the stones with the right type of joint. Thanks to an integrated system realized specifically for Pietraeco products, the final result will be perfect. Thanks to the installation of reconstructed stones, a white wall can in four steps become the element that characterized a building. Unique walls, able to enhance a timeless charme to any context.

Manufactured stone walls: the details that make the difference

Attention to detail is the added value that makes any craftsmanship perfect, excellent and exclusive. As Leonardo Da Vinci said, ‘details make perfection and perfection is not a detail’.The reconstructed stone walls are made with meticulous care, paying the utmost attention to every detail, to guarantee the excellence and uniqueness that has always distinguished Pietraeco. Shapes and colors Aesthetic appearance, with the greatest attention to detail, is what gives reconstructed stone walls added value in any environment.The uneven and irregular colouring of Pietraeco is done by hand to ensure the difference in tones and nuances and to enhance its aesthetic value, making it almost indistinguishable, both to the touch and to the eye, from the natural stone from which it comes to life. Types of grout The grouting phase, and particularly the choice of joint type, is a crucial detail that significantly affects the final appearance of the wall. With Pietraeco, this choice allows you to customize each installation, enhancing the cladding according to the desired style. The four available types of joints offer different aesthetic solutions: dry joint, for a natural and clean effect; normal joint, sober and balanced; full joint, which gives a sense of solidity and continuity; and over joint, more pronounced and textured, for a bold visual impact. Easystones Pietraeco reconstructed stone walls are made from elements of different sizes.Easystones are small reconstructed stones, useful for embellishing every corner of the wall, perfect for speeding up, simplifying and giving total harmony to the dry laying of all cladding models. Tailor-made products Rastone’s offer also includes a wide range of tailor-made products, made to guarantee maximum practicality and functionality in the application of reconstructed stones.La posa della pietra ricostruita Laying Rastone reconstructed stone involves a specific procedure, which must only be carried out with the best products designed specifically for the purpose, such as Ecocolla, Ecostucco and Ecorete.