Faux stone vs real stone

Natural stone is beautiful, heavy and permanent. Faux stone panels give you the look of a stone wall at a fraction of the weight, fitted in a day with ordinary tools. Here is what actually differs, so you can choose the right one for your wall.

At a glance

	Tritan BP faux stone panels	Natural stone cladding
Weight	Light enough for one person to lift and hold a panel	Many times heavier, and heavier still the thicker the stone
Fitting	Adhesive and screws, cut with a hand saw	Mortar or stone adhesive, cut with a wet saw or grinder
Time for a feature wall	Usually a day, often an afternoon	Several days, plus curing and pointing
Who fits it	Most people fit it themselves	Usually a stonemason or specialist fitter
Structure	Straight onto a sound wall, including plasterboard on studs	May need a structural check, support or a footing
Sealing	None: the polyurethane is non-porous	Often needs sealing and resealing
Fire	Lightning Ridge™ classified B-s1, d0 to EN 13501-1	Non-combustible

Weight

This is the biggest difference. Our panels are moulded from rigid, lightweight polyurethane. Natural stone is many times denser, so a natural stone wall weighs many times more than a panel wall, and more again the thicker the stone is cut, before you add the mortar.

One person can lift and hold a panel in place.

Structure

Because it is so heavy, real stone puts real load on a wall. On a timber stud wall, an upstairs wall or an older chimney breast, that can mean a structural check, extra support or a footing before any stone goes up. Panels go straight onto a sound, flat wall, including plasterboard on studs, so there's usually no structural work at all.

Fitting time

A natural stone wall is wet work. The stones are cut with a wet saw or grinder, set one by one in mortar or stone adhesive, left to cure and then pointed. That usually means several days of trades in your home and a room you can't use while they work.

Panels interlock, fix with construction adhesive and a few screws, and cut with a fine-tooth hand saw or any electric saw. Most people fit a full feature wall in a day, on their own, with tools they already own.

Cost

With natural stone, the price of the stone is where the quote starts. Labour, mortar, cutting, any structural work and waste removal are usually the bigger lines. With panels, the price is the finished wall, delivered free to any UK address. There's nothing to mix and usually no one to pay to fit it.

To see what your own wall would cost in every range, use the calculator on What a wall costs. Prices there are read live from the shop.

Fire

Natural stone is non-combustible, and that is a real advantage. If a wall legally needs an A1 or A2 material, use a non-combustible product, not a panel.

Lightning Ridge™ is independently classified B-s1, d0 to EN 13501-1. Every other range is made from the same polyurethane formulation as our Lightning Ridge panel, and each range's own classification is in progress. The classification applies to panels mechanically fixed to an A1 or A2 rated non-combustible substrate, with horizontal joints. The full detail is on our Fire & compliance page.

When real stone is the better choice

Where the wall legally needs a non-combustible (A1 or A2) material.
Structural or load-bearing work, such as retaining walls, steps and copings.
Inside a firebox, or anywhere that gets hotter than about 175°C.

For feature walls, media walls, chimney breasts, garden rooms and most decorative exterior walls, panels give you the look without the weight or the wait.

Brick slips?

If you are weighing up brick slips as well, we compared them side by side, including costs for a real wall: Brick slips vs faux panels.

Questions

Does faux stone look fake?

Each panel is moulded from real stone and hand-finished, so the texture, depth and colour variation come from the original. Close up, most people can't tell. The best test is a sample on your own wall, in your own light. Samples are on the samples page.

How much lighter is faux stone than real stone?

Many times lighter. One person can lift and hold a panel in place, so there is usually no structural work. Natural stone cladding weighs many times more, and more again the thicker it is cut.

Do I need a builder to fit it?

Usually not. Panels fix with construction adhesive and a few screws and cut with a hand saw. Most people fit a feature wall themselves in a day. If you would like a hand, send us a photo of the wall on WhatsApp and we will talk you through it.

Can I put faux stone on plasterboard?

Yes, on a sound, flat wall. Because the panels are so light, there's no need to reinforce a stud wall the way you often would for real stone.

Is faux stone cheaper than real stone?

For most feature walls, yes, mainly because there's little or no labour, no mortar and no structural work. Use What a wall costs to price your own wall in every range.

Is it fire safe?

Does it need sealing like real stone?

No. The polyurethane is non-porous, so it doesn't absorb water or stain the way porous stone can. It wipes clean with water and a mild detergent.