Shed Building Plans

Disney World inspired stone accent wall progress

Walt Disney World.  My second home.  I love all things Disney but it is so much more than the theme parks.  I LOVE the architecture of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.  Each resort is its own individual themed world.  I love the way the Disney Imagineers utilize stone work.  It is simply gorgeous.  Two of my favorite stone walls are at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort and the Beach Club.

Once I knew I wanted some type of stone accent in my living room, I looked for inspiration photos.  The one below, in my own camera, was the look I was hoping to achieve.  This is from the entrance of the Beach Club, one of my favorite places on Disney property.


Enter Craigslist.  I found a listing for left over stone from a patio paver project.  It was actual stone as opposed to veneer and was about 10 square feet.  So I bargained the price down, drove up and loaded it into the car.  I was SO worried the tires were going to explode on the way home but thankfully, I made it home.  PHEW!


I unloaded it - not a fun task - and stacked it on the driveway.  I had never done any type of project such as this so I Googled a lot.



So up went the waterproof barrier first applied with a staple gun.  So far so good!  Next game the metal lath.  This is a nightmare.  In the checkout line, I cut my fingers on the rough edge which is like razor sharp.  I started to bleed all over the place - so embarrassing!  I was on my hands and knees wiping blood up off the floor - it was quite gross.  This was the worst part of the job.  Buying it, transporting it and applying it with an electronic staple gun.



Next came the scratch coat.  This is not a pretty job and not very kind to a manicures.  :-)  Even wearing gloves, mixing the mortar and applying the thin coat to the lath is a messy job.  Yuck!


Next came application of the stone.  I am a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles - either you love them or you hate them and I love them.  Applying the stone is like a giant life size puzzle with different sizes and shapes of pieces.  If you are a little anal, life myself, this takes forever.  But I hope the arduous task  will totally be worth it.


The first stones in place.  I placed a solid piece of wood to serve as a level surface to ensure an even application.


More progress.  When I stepped back and looked at this - I hated it.  It looked very messy with no flow.  So, I pried off the stones and started over.  I hated to do it but in the end, I was much happier!  As Queen Clarisse says in Princess Diaries, "Better.  Much better!"


And this is where I am right now. 2/3 done - getting really excited!


Since the stone is real, the weight is considerable.  Since I am concerned about the floor supporting the weight, I am going to go under the crawlspace with a support jack.  I see they are about $40 and can allow for an additional 18,000 pounds of weight support.  They look like this...



So that is my wall progress.   I hope I can post a reveal by Friday.  I am quite excited to see this messy project finished.  Have a great weekend!  Go IRISH - beat Oklahoma.






Disney World inspired stone accent wall progress

Stone accent wall 99 999 complete

One of my decisions was whether to use crown molding or continue the stone up to the ceiling. Since this is a living and I wanted a more polished than rustic look, I decided to use white crown molding and molding corner blocks.  I am glad I did this and I love the trimmed look.  
















Stone accent wall 99 999 complete

Stone accent wall in the foyer almost complete

Since tearing down the wallpaper, this small accent wall was always an idea in the back of my head.  I would check for stone veneer listing on Craigslist and in the big box home improvement stores.

I eventually found some and the price was perfect.  It came to be that this is actual stone - not man made so it was extra heavy and very colorful.  I drove up and loaded it into the car with the help of the seller and his son.  They could not be nicer.  There was a LOT of stone!  :-)


Then I stacked it on the driveway - completely confident that I would have this project done in a week. (Um yeah - I bought this in October).  LOL


From the driveway, I moved it into the garage and that is where it is still sitting.  But the pile is shrinking.  Then the wall preparation began.  I started with a staple gun and some waterproof tar paper.


Next came the metal lath - this stuff just rips your fingers apart - OUCH!


Then you add mortar to create the scratch coat.  I let it dry completely and it was time for stone.  Yay!


I was nervous about starting this so I laid it out on the driveway first.  This actually didnt work too well for me - I liked doing it like a jigsaw puzzle - one piece at a time.  It was actually fun!


Here is the before - the view when you walk into the front door with the scratch coat ready and waiting.







Stone accent wall in the foyer almost complete