ROCCO STONE MASONRY CONTRACTORS: COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL MASONRY SPECIALIZING IN ARCHITECTURAL STONE CARVING AND DESIGN IN SASKATOON, SK.

For the purposes of this post for our House on Hastings project, let’s go through a few quick definitions with regards to using real stone for your fireplaces versus cast concrete. Natural stone is millions of years old. It is quarried from the earth and has gone through many natural changes over time. Cast stone is a type of precast concrete designed to simulate different types of natural cut stone. 
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Let’s now review a few points about natural stone that might be considered advantageous. It is relatively strong, stable, timeless, and durable, as witnessed by monuments and works of art that are centuries old and have aged wonderfully.

Natural stone will appreciate in value when used properly, is very eco-friendly, will resist natural elements, requires minimal maintenance, and offers almost limitless design options as seen on the following three Indiana limestone surrounds for our House on Hastings project. All of our fireplace surrounds, (including these three here) were designed and hand-carved by our Stone Carver and Masonry Designer, Ryan Watson. The first fireplace above was installed in the homes must have Man Cave. The fireplace below was installed in the homes main Floor Great Room, with the final fireplace in the families Master Suite. 

Natural stone comes in various shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and patterns. There is a stone that is perfect for almost every application out there. It can be considered a one-of-a-kind building material, and in fact, hand-carved natural stone (as shown here) is a true work of art!

Stone is similar to fingerprints, in that no one has the same fingerprint, and that is something that makes choosing natural stone one of a kind. There are many natural causes that affect the graining and coloration of stone over time. They include mineral deposits, underground springs, temperature, and seismic shifts. These occurrences are impossible to re-create and can only be done by Mother Nature herself. All of the “imperfections,” what I like to think of as character, are unique reflections of the stone’s “life.”

There are a few drawbacks when considering cast stone for your fireplace surrounds, hearth and mantel included. For example, cast stone struggles to achieve the same level of detail as carved natural stone. There is only so much you can capture with the molds that produce the product, whereas the possibilities are endless when you have a sculptor carving natural stone. The hardness and density of the stone and the artistic expression of the artisan doing the work add immeasurable value that simply cannot be achieved in the cast counterpart. It can also be quite challenging for a cast stone producer to achieve a genuine visual interpretation of veining and overall stone “movement.”
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So consider all these factors before your decision is cast in stone!
Info above courtesy of: Materials Marketing

Watch our Stone Carver, Ryan Watson in action with carving chisel in hand by checking out our YouTube videos HERE. For more on this House on Hastings project that we started last year, go HERE and HERE. You will also find an album on our company's facebook page called "House on Hastings" for more cool pictures of the homes progress. Did you know we offer sneak peeks of our work on instagram? Follow us there too at rocco_masons - Stay tuned for more!

Nothing compares to using real stone, especially when it comes to a home fireplaces. Not only do we use real stone for our fireplace designs, but at Rocco Masons we also incorporate the art of hand carved details, a technique that dates back to the beginning of civilization. This winter our Stone Carver and Masonry Designer, Ryan Watson worked on Designing and Carving three Indiana limestone fireplaces; one for this homes main floor as seen in today's YouTube video, another for the master suite, and of course a third for the homes MAN CAVE. 

Today's video shows the strength it took to install our 500 pound hand carved limestone mantel. As you will see things got intense for a second, but nothing our crew couldn't handle.  

Last year we started and finished the Masonry work on this homes exterior as shown below, and in last years blog's here: ROCKIN' IN ROSEWOOD and here: GRANDE CHIMNEY.

Want to follow this homes project to completion?  Then find us on facebook and instagram and SHARE our company with your friends in support of Stone Masons and Stone Carvers! #roccomasons #stonecarver #saskatoonmasonry 

Today's blog contains a time lapse video of our Stone Carver, Ryan Watson working on the centre Art Deco detail for his latest fireplace design.  That's right - along with Stone Carving, Rocco Masons offers Masonry Design Services to our commercial and residential clients.  After all, you wouldn't hire a landscape architect to design your homes interior would you?  So it only makes sense to get a Stone Mason with twenty years of experience in the trade, to not only fabricate and install your Masonry, but to Design it as well! 

This unique hand-carved Art Deco limestone fireplace now resides in the main living space of Decora's latest show home at 413 Greenbryre Lane. Not only does it serves as the main room's focal point, it also makes for an amazing piece of art that you'll never find anywhere else. All of our Masonry Designs and Stone Carvings are one-of-a-kind, never repeated and created with each individual client in mind.

So mark your calendars today and come check out this masterpiece along with the show homes many other upgrades on Wednesday/Thursday from 7 - 9 Saturday's from 1-5 and 7-9 pm and on Sunday's from 1-5   We hope to see you there and stay tuned for many more fireplace projects coming soon!

On Saturday, March 18th the show home in Greenbryre Estates opens at 413 Greenbryre Lane. This beautiful homes main living space will feature a hand carved, Art Deco, Indiana Limestone fireplace, that is shown here being carved in today's YouTube video. The Owners of Rocco Masons, Ryan & Nicolene Watson, are extremely enthusiastic, proud and honored to be bringing Stone Carving back, one of civilizations oldest trades.

A time lapse video will be on display along side this fireplace showing our Stone Carver and Masonry Designer, Ryan Watson carving this piece from its former blank rectangular shape, to it's now beautifully hand crafted Art Deco design.  The fireplace in it's entirety was designed and fabricated by Watson, by hand, creating not just your typical fireplace, but rather a timeless, one-of-a-kind, piece of stone art.

For more on the style of Art Deco, please visit our previous blog HERE and for more on the Home Builder check out Decora Homes HERE. This fireplace marks Decora's first hand carved stone piece and it certainly won't be their last.