What Is a Small Pillar With a Stone Veneer?

Types of Pillars

• Pillars, which are also called columns, are divided into two main categories -- round or square. They can also be divided stylistically into classical and modern designs. Classical looks, similar to those built in ancient Greece and Rome, include round columns with smooth or fluted shafts and ornate tops called capitals. Although round columns sometimes are made of real stone, they typically are not faced with stone veneer.

  Victorian-style homes often have small classical columns resting on their porches. But in the more modern Craftsman style, massive, angular pillars usually anchor the corners of porches to the ground, drawing the eye from the earth upward to the roofline. In the early 20th century, layers of bricks or stones formed the heavy bases or entire pillars. Now, various kinds of stone and brick veneers make this heavy look possible with less weight and cost.

Craftsman Style

• The rustic stone and wood look of Craftsman-style architecture grew out of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century, which rejected the size and complicated ornamentation of Victorian architecture. In addition to bulky, tapered columns, Craftsman homes featured roofs with moderate-to-low slopes, deep overhangs and exposed wood beams as well as interiors with more open floor plans. Proponents of the Craftsman style emphasized nature and simplicity. The popularity of the style eventually led to a market for smaller, more affordable homes called bungalows that often were sold as kits through mail order catalogs.

Natural Stone Veneer

• Bungalow-type homes are widely available. To achieve the Craftsman look while keeping costs down, new construction partly relies on a variety of veneers, including natural and artificial stone. Since the 1990s, natural stone veneer has become thinner due to improvements in machinery for cutting stone. Thicker products, called full-dimensional stone, are 3 to 5 inches thick and weigh 40 to 73 pounds per square foot, according to the Building Stone Institute. But thin-cut, natural stone -- called thin stone -- is about 1 1/4 inch thick and weighs 15 pounds per square foot or less.

Artificial Stone Veneer

• Artificial stone veneer is a concrete product. The individual stones are synthesized from crushed natural stone, pigments and portland cement. The process for producing the individual stones was invented in the 1962 by two Californians, brothers Garrett and Floyd Brown, who trademarked their product as Cultured Stone. The faux stone can weigh from 8 to 15 pounds per square foot, according to the Owens-Corning company.