Stone veneer panels on aluminum honeycomb provide an innovative alternative to traditional stone cladding.

Over the past hundred years or so, though, the use of stone in construction has waned. Traditional stone masonry is rarely used in modern buildings; its main drawbacks have been its unwieldy weight, high labor costs, and quarry, cut, and transport challenges in getting stone from point A to point B. Today’s architects, however, looking for innovative ways to incorporate stone’s many benefits into their current projects, no longer need to dismiss stone as an option. A lighter, cost-effective, sustainable, and proven product is available: lightweight aluminum honeycomb-backed reinforced stone panels.

Natural stone veneer on aluminum honeycomb panels are composite panels consisting of a thin layer of natural stone (such as granite, marble, travertine, or limestone), typically 3/4-inch to 1/4-inch thick, bonded with high-strength epoxy (think aircraft quality) to a lightweight yet extremely durable aluminum honeycomb backing. The total panel thickness including stone and aluminum honeycomb is typically either 3/4 inch or 1 inch. The panels offer designers the beauty of the natural stone face combined with aluminum’s increased strength and light weight. The panels are typically custom made to the size and shape required for the specific project. Corners, sills, and special shapes can be factory fabricated.

Natural stone facing is attached to the aluminum honeycomb backing with an extremely durable aerospace-grade epoxy.

Natural stone facing is attached to the aluminum honeycomb backing with an extremely durable aerospace-grade epoxy.

Stone veneer on aluminum honeycomb panels offer designers and owners the beauty, low maintenance, and quality look and feel of natural marble, granite, travertine, or limestone. But unlike heavy and fragile stone slabs, stone on aluminum honeycomb panels are lightweight, strong, and easy to install, offering design freedom to use them in ways heavy slabs cannot be used.

According to Ashley McDermott, project manager for StonePly, a manufacturer of natural stone veneer panels, “Honeycomb-backed stone panels are an innovative solution to natural stone. The lightweight panels cut installation cost and time without sacrificing the beauty of having natural stone on your project. With the reinforced honeycomb backing, you also gain strength and durability, eliminating many of the problems faced with solid stone slabs.”

^{· The panels are much stronger than slab stone, with impact strength up to 60 times that of 3-centimeter stone slabs.}

^{· Panels are easier to install and put less load on the building. They weigh just (approximately) 3.5 pounds per square foot.}

^{· Easy and secure installation}

^{· Design freedom: The panels’ light weight and high strength offer designers freedom to use them in ways that heavy and fragile solid stone can’t be used, and they can be easily customized to the architect’s design.}

^{· The lighter weight reduces the amount of structural support required and makes it easier to over-clad or retrofit existing buildings.}

^{· Can be easily supported and safely used overhead, on light gauge framing, for soffits and cantilevers}

^{· Hurricane and earthquake resistant}

^{· Reduced weight of structure}

^{· Faster and safer installation}

^{· Cost efficiencies}

Stone on aluminum honeycomb panels are used in commercial, hospitality, financial, government, retail, educational, and mixed-use construction projects throughout the world. Designers can use the panels on everything from high-rise facades, ceilings, and soffits to specialty elevator cab interiors, toilet partitions, and other areas where slab stone is too heavy or too weak to use. The lightweight panels are quick and easy to install, making them ideal for fast-track projects.

The panels allow designers the durability, beauty, and high-end appearance of stone in a lightweight panel. Thanks to the low weight of the panels, the load on the building’s structure is minimized. The panels offer speed of installation, hurricane resistance, and seismic resistance.