" Okay we're in the backyard now and one of the features that the architect kind of worked into this whole transition from the house and the deck to the backyard involved putting in these. Concrete block walls as retainer. And in this case kind of as the edge for the staircase that brings you down into the garden and then we've got another element here but we also have. Mark Murphy about. From Owens Corning cultured stone. We're standing in front of what will be there at the grill station gonna have a gas grill in there and stone countertops. But. When you've got concrete block walls like this you've got the choice of the eating -- painting it or charging it over with Stucco or doing something more creative like what we have here cultured stone."

" Exactly. What we've done here Bob is had somebody come in at a time. Put in these concrete blocks make it a good sound structural substrate for us and we've gone ahead and -- the entire. Job will be done here soon with this cultured stone product."

" So this is essentially. It sure looks like a rock but essentially it's a cast cement product right."

" There we go out into the field Bob and actually get natural stones out of the -- that we make a mold. System there where we take latex and spray them over the natural stones that we put in three ingredients and we've put in. Portland cement is our main ingredient we diffuse with a weight with a product called pumice and we use iron oxides here to color the product make it look just like the stuff that's in the fields. This also looks like mica. Little better look of that here if you take a look in the sunlight you can see the stuff called Michael which is almost looking in natural. At ways to look like a quartz product right and as soon as the light hits an old reflect back and and make the job -- that much more natural now what are the big advantages of working with. Are cultured stone as opposed to sticking to regular field stone yeah we come in with the three things we go against -- with most folks would say that the natural stone business we go after them. In three ways number one -- 100% of the beauty of natural stone as you can see here looks just like to see it's hard to tell any difference and you've already got about a foot of it up here. So yes I agree that's number one number one -- percent of beauty number two Bob we're a third of the weight you can see the stone just picked up is extremely lightweight sure it's not the full depth material accident here exactly it's flat on the back which -- helps us put on of these substrate right thirdly we're about 50% of the cost of natural stone as a project. No because again the time the time it takes to put this product on. As a veneer as opposed to stacking natural well I'll tell you one thing that makes a lot of sense is this that's that's one of our our our best featured product all of the stones that we manufacture Bob come in ninety degree return when a natural stone mason would look at a job. Without question the most cumbersome part of that job actually laying natural stone corners here when they return of ninety degrees we speed that whole process up from."

" I'm mocking it up over here but let's go look in this direction for the thaws are actually installing it now you're not using any kind of glues or synthetic if he's if you're actually using a mortar mix right."

" Exactly right working out of -- Brendan and his guys working here with a type N mortar. You put that against the wall back butter the stones the flats and the corners and go right on that concrete block and you'd think as usual walked here that entire job is three dimensional natural stuff."

" And you do have the -- manager the option of kind of being your own creative about director here in terms of positioning. Flat pieces with larger rectangular pieces corner pieces so that you do have the look of a kind of a dry laid."

" we call -- a dry stack the actual. Individual mason can put his artistic imprint on the stone project the way he wants -- it's it's something he's laying everything out as you see here but just going after it. 1 layer at a time and again just a beautiful look."

" And here in this project we've got a unique opportunity to compare the cultured stone with real stone cause David. Our homeowner obviously the weekend warrior and at some point in the last few years he's built these little retainer walls all around here. And I don't know what kind of stone is to ensure looks like the -- now Ryley and Bob basically a three dimensional stone here stacked as you can see the corners. Just labor intensive very cumbersome project. -- Italy's as opposed to what we've got over here with the -- style which is clad product. The justice so much work to put up the natural stone yeah and in terms of the that time involved. Well we've got a professional crew here but this very much of a do it yourself job isn't it."

" Absolutely you'd go into a project you do a take off what you would need for. A Linear feet of corners of the woods those would come in the red box and then we'd have our blue boxes with the flats and you go ahead and just fill the order up and go after mixture. Mortar together and you're gonna be put that right up on the block in no time kit can you get that in the material at most home improvement centers do we have distribution all through the United States and Canada you go to cultured stone dot com we put it or."

" Yes that code or area code they don't tell you where you will probably going to. -- it is speaking of different -- you know geographical parts of the country we have different kind of stone -- how many different lines do you have -- if you took the whole product line together Bob all the -- we have nearly 800 -- we have a stone that's indigenous -- just about every area of the country -- here -- this obviously is -- look at some of the guys putting up -- great looking product that is partly what I love is that there's a great deal of creativity involved even though it's not. Natural stone and it's. Almost the same as building something out of natural stone exactly we say that the individual mason or the do it yourselfer can put their own artistic imprint on the project themselves by simply scattering the stones out. Picking them up to blame them on the substrate as they wish yeah I start to see that OK well thanks mark we'll come back towards the end of the show to see how how they've progressed thanks Bob OK."