Elevate your outdoor living space with an exterior kitchen, grill island or bar with nailable, mortarless, easy-to-install stone veneer! We’ll walk you through the key considerations you need to know for DIY stone veneer installation, advantages of working with stone veneer and inspiration for complementing the natural elements of your outdoor space with stone veneer colors and textures.

Stone Veneer Outdoor Kitchen DIY Installation

As a Class B fire-rated product, Evolve Stone can be installed around outdoor kitchens, grills and pizza ovens. All you’ll need for your installation is an appropriate substrate for your application, finish nails and a finish nailer, standard woodworking tools for specialty cuts as needed, a hammer to tap stones for adjustments and a level to keep things aligned throughout the installation process.

Considerations for DIY Exterior Installations

While we recommend preparing for your DIY installation by first reading through our installation guide on our resources page, here are some quick considerations that will help you nail your outdoor kitchen, grill island or bar with Evolve Stone product. First and foremost, when installing around appliances that are combustible, you’ll want to check their manual notes on non-combustible surfaces.

According to building code, when installing around a wood stove, there should be a minimum of 36” between the stove and the stone face. It’s important to note that the stone product cannot come in direct contact with the flame. In regard to insulation, you do not need to put insulation between the stove itself and Evolve Stone. If you’re using wood for your installation, make sure that you use kiln dried after treatment (KDAT) plywood for outdoor areas that will be exposed to moisture.

For a more in-depth look at Evolve Stone’s installation process, check out our stone veneer installation blog.

Where Can You Install Exterior Stone Veneer?

From installing stone veneer for a BBQ island to installing stone veneer around a grill, there are several ways for you to bring your vision to life when building an outdoor kitchen with Evolve Stone, which include:

• Grill
• Pizza Oven
• Kitchen or Bar Island
• Seating Area
• Surrounding Walls
• Columns

Note: You should never use stone veneer on a horizontal surface, such as a countertop, as a rule of thumb for fire safety.

Advantages of Stone Veneer

As an exceedingly popular design element, manufactured stone veneer offers an easy renovation project that adds lasting value to a home. Take a look at advantages of working with stone veneer.

Cost

When comparing costs between stone veneer and natural stone veneer, there is difference when it comes to material cost and on the wall cost during installation. The material cost is solely based on how much the product costs per square footage. On the wall cost includes variables such as time, labor and required materials and tools. As a mortarless, easy-to-install stone veneer, Evolve Stone is less labor intensive, cost-saving and a great option for those looking to do a DIY install.

Weight

Improving the installation process with its lightweight properties, Evolve Stone installs up to 10X faster than natural stone. This also lends to Evolve Stone’s workability, as custom cuts or adjustments for unique installation spaces can be achieved by cutting the product with standard woodworking tools.

Durability

Capable of withstanding the harshest elements, Evolve Stone is extremely durable. Don’t let its lightweight nature fool you, as Evolve Stone is UV resistant, isn’t affected by salt spray, withstands freeze-thaw cycles, doesn’t retain water and performs extremely well under wind loading. It’s durability also minimizes the likelihood for waste and breakage.

Faux Stone Veneer Outdoor Kitchen Inspiration & Style Tips

With endless possibilities and combinations, take a look at these inspiration pictures and style tips to bring your outdoor oasis vision to life with a DIY outdoor kitchen with stone veneer.

Color

Available in four exquisite colors, Evolve Stone’s products are beautifully color-throughout and perfectly complement a variety of home styles, including traditional, transitional, contemporary and everything in between. Ranging from warm organic hues to modern, monochromatic tones, Evolve Stone comes in Dune Point, Kodiak Mine, Morning Aspen and Phantom Shadow. To add an element of intrigue, you can also play with blending colors in a 50/50 or 80/20 ratio, while keeping the top and bottom borders one consistent color.

Stone Styles

When deciding on a color and stone style to complement your home, you can start by identifying your home’s architectural style. With four distinct styles that have something for everyone, Evolve Stone’s styles ranges from a modern style with District view to a more traditional style with Georgetown Run. If you’re wanting to get creative, you can even mix some of our styles; however, we only recommend mixing the National True, Capital Sky and District View styles together.

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Check out these awesome outdoor stone veneer projects from real Evolve Stone customers!