How to Easily Install Stone Veneers

Staple building paper over the entire surface to be veneered. Overlap the paper 4 inches. Nail a metal lath over the building paper, overlapping the lath 4 inches.

Mix two parts sand and one part Portland cement in a wheelbarrow or shallow, wide pan. Slowly add water and stir until the mixture forms the consistency of peanut butter. Spread the mixture over the lath with a trowel until you cover the lath, creating a scratch coat that's approximately 1/2-inch thick. Allow the mixture to set for 10 minutes, and scrape the surface of the mortar, using a scrap piece of lath, to create horizontal furrows in the scratch coat.

Allow the scratch coat to dry overnight. Snap horizontal chalk lines along the wall to help keep the stone placement even. Mix a second batch of mortar and begin setting the veneer by buttering the backs of the stones with mortar and setting them firmly onto the first layer of mortar.

Allow the mortar to dry overnight and mix a third batch of mortar. Fill a sturdy plastic bag with mortar and cut a 1/4-inch hole in one corner of the bag. Squeeze the mortar out of the bag and into the veneer joints. Smooth the mortar and force it into the joints, using a butter knife.