Creative Faux Panels

Millions of Americans were hit hard by Hurricane Irene last weekend; with some suffering devastating damage to their homes and properties.

Stone veneer panels are great for installing in a finished basement; even one prone to flooding.

Fortunately, many of us on the east coast escaped with relatively minor damage; losing shingles, water in the basement and other inconveniences that remind us of just how lucky we were.

While repairing roofing and cleaning out a flooded basement is a pain, many turn the inconvenience into an opportunity; turning simple repair and maintenance work into an excuse to start, or finish, a home remodeling project they’ve been putting off for a while.

Our faux panels, exterior siding and other faux stone, brick and wood products are great tools for making the most of these remodeling projects, as they’re affordable, easy to install and 100% waterproof; which is especially relevant as many of us are being forced to reevaluate just how vulnerable our homes are to water.

Even better, if a post-flood home design project is on the “to-do” list, this Labor Day you can instantly save 5% when you order faux panels online by using a special Labor Day sale coupon FauxPanels.com has created.

Labor Day sale coupon

It’s easy to use. Just shop for what you want online, at fauxpanels.com, and then enter the Labor Day sale code at checkout – SMP11.

This savings code is valid throughout September 5, 2011 – and must be used at the time of purchase and cannot be combined with any other savings or sale offer.

Let us know what you buy – and how you use them! And if you send in before and after photos to info@fauxpanels.com, we might even ask to use them on our blog!

Check out this quick, easy and dramatic backyard design project – accomplished using our Nailon Granite Gray Stone Wall panels.

There’s no better way to enjoy the summer sunshine than by the water – and customers Jane and Jim Sheridan had a beautiful swimming pool to enjoy in the back yard of their Georgia home. But despite the combination of crisp blue skies and sparkling blue water, one thing was stopping them fully enjoying their poolside relaxation: an ugly retaining wall.

Bare wood got the job done, but this retaining wall was ugly and attracted mold

“It was just plain unsightly,” Jim wrote to us, with accompanying pictures of his poolside project. “The wall was made of untreated and ugly wood, which would get damp and attract mold. Trying to cover it was a Band Aid solution to a bigger problem – after a few weeks, the paint would repeatedly peel.”

Jim and Jane’s options seem limited. The foundation wall did its job, even if it was unsightly, and replacing it with brick or stone would have taken weeks and cost thousands of dollars.

“We were at a loss as how to renovate,” Jim told us – until he and his wife learned about our Nailon faux stone wall siding.

Made from durable and weatherproof polypropylene, our Nailon Granite Gray Stone Wall panels install just like regular siding – and are molded from real stone, intricately detailed to look almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

This gave Jim and Jane two important advantages. Firstly, the faux stone panels wouldn’t get saturated with moisture as the wooden wall did – making it resistant to ugly and unsightly mold.

Secondly, the Nailon Granite Gray Stone Wall panels looked amazing – giving the instant impression that the Sheridan’s serviceable wooden retaining wall was actually created from hand-laid stone bricks.

As you can see from these “before” and “after” photos, installing faux stone panels on the retaining wall instantly transformed the poolside; giving it a clean, beautiful, top-dollar appearance for a fraction of the cost of building a real stone wall.

Even better, the job was quick and easy.

Nailon Granite Gray Stone Wall panels transformed this poolside retaining wall

“The siding was applied as part of one of our weekend projects,” Jim admits. “It was breathtakingly easy to install.”

Both Jim and Jane are thrilled at the results.

“We’ve already had so many compliments about how much this has added and improved the area. The wall is a centerpiece of beauty and sets off the area complimenting the deck – we could not be happier.”

What do you think of the Sheridan’s new poolside view? And have you used our faux stone panels for your own poolside or backyard design project? If so, we’d love to see the pictures.  Send them to us at info@fauxpanels.com.

When Manfred bought his weekend home in upstate New York, it looked very different to how it is today. That’s due to Manfred’s dedication and hard work – and his strategic use of products like our Oxford Stacked Stone Veneer Siding in Light Gray.

Manfred's pretty upstate home deserved a little love

There were many things Manfred did to transform his pretty two-story – from adding stylish new siding to fixing up the slightly rickety looking deck. One of the major home improvements on his list, however, was “to remodel the ugly side walls of my crawl space.”

This wasn’t just to make the house look prettier. In upstate New York, which is teeming with animals like squirrels, raccoons, possums and skunks, keeping your crawl space covered is essential to prevent any uninvited house guests settling in while you’re away.

“Faux stone paneling struck me as ideal for this purpose,” he wrote to us, including pictures of his home before and after installation, “and ordering with the help of customer service was easy.”

As to was installation, according to what Manfred told us.

“Installation with screws and glue was idiot-proof,” he wrote, “and the panels can easily be cut by table saw.” Slightly more complicated was actually working out how many he’d need in the first place. “The interlocked panels require some thinking to ensure they are cut on the correct end, and to avoid too many left overs.”

Adding Oxford Stacked Stone Veneer siding was both a stylish and practical decision

That was a challenge Manfred clearly rose to, however – and the results speak for themselves. The photos he sent to us demonstrate what a fantastic difference the Oxford Stacked Stone Panels make; giving his home the impression of solidity and stability that can only be accomplished with stonework.

Manfred shares our opinion of his handwork. “Now I have a pretty, new siding, which looks perfect.” He’s also quick to add some of the more practical advantages to using stone veneer panels.  “They provide good thermal isolation for my home, and keep unwanted animals out of the crawl space.”

There are other reasons why the use of faux stone paneling made us in Manfred’s case. He admits that there were challenges to any home improvement project he had planned: “As the house is a weekend home, delivery of any building supplies needs to be scheduled precisely.”

That’s something much more accomplishable with a few stacks of faux paneling than truckloads of real stacked stone, bags of concrete and sacks of sand. It’s also considerably more affordable.

But perhaps most importantly, using faux panels allowed Manfred to add the beauty and style of stacked stone to his home in a matter of days; rather than the weeks it would have taken to stack real stone around his crawl space. Given that he only has a few days each month to enjoy his stunning upstate home, that’s an economy it seems very sensible to make.

Adding on to your house gives you more storage and living space while improving the value of your home. Anyone who has undertaken this kind of project knows that making the addition’s exterior blend with the rest of the house is super important. Otherwise you’ll end up with a patchwork monstrosity that will have your friends calling Ty Pennington and his crew for an Extreme Makeover rescue. Don’t be a DIY disaster!

Things to consider before you begin your addition:

• The materials on your current home’s exterior may no longer be available or prove too costly, especially on older homes. You may need to get creative on finding a similar-looking alternative.

• Your home’s current siding has most likely taken a beating over the years from various types of weather and climate. Keep this in mind when you’re selecting a color for the addition. Nice and bright probably won’t mesh well.

• There may be sections of the addition that are trickier to side than others. Be certain when choosing your materials that it can be relatively easy to install in ALL areas.

A good example of this conundrum is our customer’s addition to his existing brick building. According to Paul Reeves from Bethel, OH, installing real brick or rock in the space above the roof of the addition would have been logistically difficult. I would agree that schlepping heavy bricks or rock up a ladder and installing them above that sloped roof top would be precarious at best, not to mention costly.

Before

Luckily Paul was able to find a solution with forty-two of our Random Rock Potomac faux panels. Take a look at the final result photos below. We think they look great!

After - Close Up View

After - Full View