Cultured Stone Masonry Designs

The fireplace images show metal, zero clearance fireplace units. They are installed within wood framing and the metal flue pipe extends up through a wood framed chimney.

In these images, the wood framing is covered with plywood, then tar paper is stapled to the plywood. Metal lath is nailed or screwed over the tar paper. A layer of mortar or plaster is applied to the lath and allowed to dry. The stone is applied to the plastered lath.

To lay this stone, mortar is applied to the flat back side, and the stones are then pressed against the plaster where they stick into place.
Cultured Stone Can be directly applied to unpainted concrete block or brick surfaces.
Typically, one starts the installation at the top of the wall and works down. This keeps the set stones from being splattered by dropping mortar.

The stone and brick you see, including the flat hearth and paving pieces, are manufactured from molded plaster castings, then sprayed with an application of textured color oxides to mimic the appearance of natural stone or brick. This process produces a light weight product known as cultured stone.
Cultured stone is a cosmetic application only and has no structural strength.
When the surface of the stone is scratched or chipped, the underlying white plaster is revealed.