Stoneyard.com Adds Natural Stone Color Lines

Stoneyard.com, a natural stone products company for residential and commercial construction, announces Nantucket Brown and Newport Mist, two new color lines available in four distinct shapes: Ledgestone, Mosaic, Square & Rectangular, and Ashlar.

The colors are suitable for both interior and exterior applications and are perfect for exterior siding, fireplaces, chimneys, walls, columns, wine cellars, water features, and foundations. Thanks to growing demand and increased production capacity, Stoneyard.com offers up to a 31 percent price reduction on many Thin Stone Veneer products in 2013.

"We are proud to offer American-made, all-natural stone products at competitive price points," says Stoneyard.com VP of Sales David Croteau. "[The year] 2012 was a fantastic year for us, and we've responded by ramping up our production capacity to meet that demand. Our dealers and satisfied customers can all attest to the quality of our Thin Stone Veneer. We believe our new colors, Nantucket Brown and Newport Mist, will prove every bit as successful as existing products such as Boston Blend, Colonial Tan, and Greenwich Gray."

New England Thin Stone Veneer is as light as man-made stone at less than 14 pounds per square foot. It is also only one inch thick, making it an ideal material for countless interior and exterior architectural construction projects. Even better, the product is entirely natural.

Stoneyard.com's product catalog consists of only real stone that has been split, sawn and hand-crafted in the United States. Stoneyard.com sells their natural stone products through a network of authorized dealers throughout the United States and Canada.

To see a photo and video gallery of finished projects that took advantage of the company's Thin Stone Veneer products, visit http://www.stoneyard.com/gallery.

Natural Stone Documentary in the Works

M S International (MSI), a stone distribution company, is making it possible for the Marble Institute of America to produce a major new documentary that memorializes the global historic relationship between mankind and natural stone. Funding for the documentary will be provided by MSI.

The 35 to 40 minute documentary will be based on a creative concept by Manu Shah, founder of MSI of Orange, Calif. The documentary will trace the evolution of man and stone from prehistoric times to today’s thriving use of natural stone as one of the premier decorative building materials used in commercial buildings and homes around the world.

"Natural stone has played an instrumental role in the advancement of civilization over thousands of years," Shah sats. "In developing this documentary, we look forward to working with the MIA to further expose both the historical significance of natural stone and the continued impact the natural stone industry has on all of our lives."

Bill Levy Productions Inc. of Beachwood, Ohio, which has produced MIA video programs for almost a decade, will work with the MIA-MSI team to create the program. The documentary will premier at StonExpo in Las Vegas, January 2013.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with Manu Shah and the rest of the MSI team on this historic project,” says Gary Distelhorst, executive director of MIA. “Our goal is to create a video documentary that is entertaining, educational and compelling. In his outline proposing the production, Mr. Shah has done a remarkable job of laying the groundwork for visualizing the story.”

To develop the program, sound bites from a wide range of experts will be blended with images to create a visual montage showing how stone emerged from being a necessary part of prehistoric man’s tools of life, to his major source of shelter.

Finally, the production will describe how natural stone captured the imagination of the design community in the 1990s, creating a world-wide boom for stone usage in kitchens, baths and other parts of the home, an explosion that has created a worldwide industry employing millions of people and one of the few industries supporting rural regions of the world.

Production will begin with a series of video interviews this month at Coverings.

Marble Limestone Shines in John Wayne Airport Terminal

John Wayne Airport’s (JWA’s) new Terminal C opened to passengers on Nov. 14, 2011. Constructed by McCarthy Building Companies and designed by Gensler, the terminal increases JWA’s capacity from 8.4 million annual passengers to 10.8 million. It also provides the airport with the ability to operate international flights. The $211.5 million facility was part of the $543 million Airport Improvement Program.

Serving as the general contractor, McCarthy began construction on Terminal C in August 2009. The design of Terminal C draws heavily from the distinctive features of the existing Riley Terminal, creating a seamless experience throughout the entire airport complex. The building’s exterior skin incorporates masonry, plaster and stone, along with glass and metal panels similar to the existing structures. The interior features barrel-vaulted ceilings resembling a fuselage, an abundance of windows and skylights, a soft, neutral color palette and natural marble limestone.

Called Jura stone, the natural stone is featured throughout the walls and floors in all terminals. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the natural quartz veins and variable fossils which are visible on the beige background. The marble was mined in quarries in Germany and cut, polished and fabricated in Italy, ensuring the correct color and precise and clean lines that make up this beautiful design treatment throughout the terminals.

Tchapadarian explained that one of the project’s most unusual and complex features was installing the barrel-vaulted roof on the Terminal C concourse. About 26 construction workers completed the roof installation by first pouring 1,080 cubic yards of light weight insulating concrete, then carefully installing about 2,100 metal roof panels. Much of the work was conducted atop the 60-foot-high structure, and the process took six months to complete.

In order to reduce errors in the field, Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used to create a 3D model of the project before construction began. The virtual model helped to detect and avoid any system clashes in advance of construction, which, in turn, reduced construction duration and improved the quality of construction. The project was designed in Revit, and NavisWorks was used for clash detection.

Terminal C also features sustainable elements including an innovative LED lighting system, which provides consistent lighting throughout the terminal. The system requires little or no maintenance for 20 years, and will decrease the energy it consumes by at least 37 percent. Furthermore, Terminal C’s Water Quality Management Plan incorporates environmental controls and specifies the means and methods of pollution control. Environmentally responsible construction was used during the project including: curbing storm water runoff from the construction sites to prevent discharge of pollutants to the storm drains; recycling 90 percent of construction-related materials and waste; and dust mitigation activities to minimize air quality effects during construction.

Parsons of Pasadena, Calif., is the program manager; Arcadis/Pinnacle One of Irvine, Calif., is the construction management firm; Jacobs of Santa Ana, Calif., is the civil and MEP engineer; and IDS Group Inc. of Irvine, Calif., is the structural engineer. The main specialty contractors are: Capparelli/KHS&S of Orange (framing/drywall); Helix of San Diego, Calif. (electrical), A.O. Reed of San Diego (HVAC), and Pan Pacific Plumbing of Irvine (plumbing).