Two products, one wall
Manufactured stone veneer is sold as flats and corners, and they are
priced and measured differently: flats by the square foot, corners by the
linear foot. The thing every other veneer calculator misses is that the
corners are not an extra — they cover wall. A linear foot of
corner piece wraps around and faces about three quarters of a square foot
of the wall, and that area does not need flats.
flats ft² = (wall − openings) − (corner lin ft × 0.75)
corners = corner lin ft
both + 10–15% for cutting
400 ft² wall, 40 ft² openings, 32 lin ft of corner
to cover 360 ft²
corners cover 24 ft²
flats needed 336 ft²
+ 10% 370 ft² of flats
36 lin ft of corners
0.75, and where it comes from
Boral publish it directly: one linear foot of corner covers approximately
three quarters of a square foot of flat area, the coverage runs from a
half to three quarters depending on texture, and you should calculate
using three quarters. Their guide adds that with experience and certain
textures the multiplier can be reduced to 0.50 — which makes 0.5 an
optimisation for someone who knows the product, not a starting point.
The field on this page defaults to 0.75 for that reason.
What the corners save you
From this calculator at 0.75 ft² a linear foot and 10% waste. The last column is flat stone you would buy and not use if you ordered flats on the gross wall area — on a chimney it is most of a pallet.
Openings, and the returns you should not deduct
Take the openings out of the wall area before you enter it. Do not take
out the returns: the reveal around a window is usually veneered as well,
and on a deep wall those returns put back a real share of what the
opening removed. If you are stopping the stone at the window frame there
is nothing to add back — but check the detail before you assume it.
Ask how the box is measured
The manufacturer's guide tells you to verify whether your chosen texture
is sold on coverage with a half inch mortar joint or tight-fitted,
because the same box covers noticeably different ground either way. That
is a question for the yard. This page gives you the wall area to buy
against; the box tells you how many boxes that is.
Not counted here
- Barrier, lath and scratch coat. The wall behind the stone is its own assembly and its own material list.
- Setting mortar and jointing. Both depend on the texture and whether the joints are struck or the stone is tight-fitted.
- Weep screed and flashing. Governed by code and by climate, and the part that decides whether the wall stays dry.
- Caps, sills and hearths. Sold by the piece and by the linear foot, not by the square foot of wall.
The rest of the elevation
Where the wall behind the veneer is rendered rather than faced, the
stucco calculator counts the
base and finish coats from the same wall area. For real masonry, the
brick calculator and the
concrete block calculator
count the units and the mortar, and the
block fill calculator
covers grouting the cores behind them. If the veneer is going on a garden
feature rather than a house, the
fire pit calculator counts a
ring of wall block the same way.
Common questions
How do you calculate stone veneer?
In two currencies at once. Flats are ordered in square feet and corners in linear feet, and the corners cover flat area — so you measure the wall, subtract the openings, work out how much wall the corners will cover, and only the remainder is flats. On the worked example a 400 square foot wall with 40 square feet of openings and 32 linear feet of corner needs 370 square feet of flats and 36 linear feet of corners.
How much flat area does a linear foot of corner cover?
Three quarters of a square foot, and Boral publish it as a band: between a half and three quarters depending on the texture, with the instruction to calculate using three quarters. Their guide notes that with experience and certain textures the multiplier can be brought down to 0.50. So 0.75 is the figure to order on and 0.5 is an optimisation for someone who knows the product, not a default.
What happens if I do not deduct the corners?
You buy flat stone you cannot use. On the chimney row in the table below, the corners cover 60 square feet — most of a pallet of flats — and ordering the flats on the gross wall area buys every one of those square feet twice. Manufactured stone is not cheap by the square foot, and veneer offcuts are not returnable in most yards.
How much waste should I allow?
Ten to fifteen per cent on both flats and corners, which is Eldorado's own recommendation for cutting, trimming and getting tight-fit joints to look right. The calculator defaults to ten. Go to the top of the band on a wall with a lot of openings and returns, because every reveal is another set of cuts, and on a tight-fitted texture where pieces are trimmed to meet rather than mortared apart.
Do I deduct windows and doors?
Deduct the opening area, yes — but do not deduct the returns. The reveal around a window is usually veneered too, and on a deep wall those returns put back a fair share of what the opening took out. If you are trimming a window in stone rather than in a cast sill and header, measure the returns and add them back as flat area.
Is veneer sold with a mortar joint or tight-fitted?
Both, and it changes the coverage. The manufacturer's guide says to verify whether the texture you have chosen is sold based on coverage with a half inch mortar joint or tight-fitted, because a box of the same product covers noticeably different ground either way. It is a question for the yard before you order, not something a calculator can know — this page counts wall area and the box tells you how much wall a box does.
What is not in this number?
Most of the delivery, on a real job. Weather-resistive barrier, metal lath, the scratch coat, setting mortar, weep screed, flashing, and any cap, sill or hearth are all separate orders governed by your assembly and your climate. This tool answers the part it can answer exactly — how much stone goes on the wall — and lists what it is leaving out rather than pretending the stone is the job.
Should I build a mock panel?
The manufacturer says so, and it is good advice. A three foot by three foot area, laid the way the wall will be laid and later built into the finished work, settles arguments about joint width, colour blend and how much stone is showing before there is a wall of it to disagree over. It costs an hour and a few square feet out of the order you have already made an allowance for.
