The stone effect is a timeless must in furnishing choices and has become a style trend over the decades, managing to be the protagonist both in classic design expressions, such as rustic-style, and contemporary ones, such as the industrial. However, using natural stones for indoor and outdoor environments is by no means simple. Creation processes are rather complex, and the costs are certainly not so affordable. Fortunately, artificial rocks offer a more than valid alternative.
We at Isoplam® we provide you with various solutions for the interiors and exteriors of your home or business. The main products to reproduce the desired stone effect are:
- Plam Rock, the special Isoplam® fiber mortar ideal for recreating fake stones, waterfalls, caves, but also simple steps and tables.
- Plam Stone, the stone effect printed plaster to decorate internal and external walls.
How to use artificial rocks?
The applications of artificial rocks are manifold. We move from the creation of real scenographies for amusement parks to architectural elements to embellish the gardens of private homes. Fake stones can also be used to create an arch, to cover fireplaces, stairs, or jambs.
Plam Rock and Plam Stone have helped our technicians accomplish dozens of applications in the most diverse locations: from the aforementioned amusement parks to wellness centers, gardens and finally hotels, bed & breakfasts and, of course, private homes. Get inspired by taking a look at our most beautiful artificial rock creations!
Artificial rocks reproduced with Isoplam® products are undoubtedly distinguished by their high aesthetic appeal and unquestionable mechanical qualities: in addition to reproducing a visual effect reminiscent of natural rock. The materials are particularly resistant and difficult to damage. Moreover, they require almost no maintenance.
The time has come to take a closer look at how these great little masterpieces are made, starting right from fake stone walls.
Stone effect printed plaster with Plam Stone
More and more people decide to give a rustic touch to their homes by deciding to embellish a wall or a column with a stone effect. There are many solutions on the market to reproduce this effect, but why choose Plam Stone?
The stone effect printed plaster offered by Isoplam® adapts to any type of surface, reproducing the characteristics of the natural material throughout. You will also be able to decide between different textures to reproduce the desired effect: stone, brick, rock, or wood. There is also a wide choice of colors. In short, we do everything we can to meet your design needs.
The realization of the plaster printed effect stone with Plam Stone follows some basic steps. Let's look at all the stages of implementation together:
- Preparation of the substrate with the application of Deco Primer Base. It is a white pigmented adhesive primer based on acrylic dispersion in water. It is ideal as a bonding primer for Plam Stone, but also for Plam Rock plaster for artificial rocks. In addition to its preparatory functions, it is also very useful for smoothing surfaces with micro-cracks.
- Application of the first coat of Plam Stone.
- Application of the second coat of Plam Stone for a thickness of 1/2 cm.
- Isoplam® rubber molds. In this phase, you will decide the motif that will characterize your wall: bricks, ardesia, wood, marble veins, rocks, and more…
- The wall is left to rest for a day and the texture is then optimized through a correction kit that will make the faux stone walls almost identical to the natural material. Finally, the color and the Plam Sealing protective resin for printed plasters are applied. The resin will also give brightness to the color and facilitate cleaning operations.
One of the main features of Plam Stone is its versatility: it can be used both indoors and outdoors, as it guarantees excellent resistance to wear and atmospheric agents. The molded plaster also adapts very easily to most surfaces, including those in concrete, masonry, plasterboard, and wood.
Create artificial rocks with Plam Rock
After having seen how to create a stone effect wall, let’s move on to the creation of artificial rocks, intended as true architectural elements to embellish gardens, parks and design stunning scenery in theme parks.
Plam Rock is the ideal product to create artificial rocks of any shape. It is composed of a special fiber-reinforced mortar, characterized by the presence of millimeter-sized fibers that enhance its resistance. In fact, the fiber mixture contrasts the hydraulic shrinkage of the mortar during the hardening phase, thus avoiding the formation of cracks in the plaster.
Plam Rock is very easy to model. Consequently, it can be applied directly on horizontal or vertical substrates in brick, plasterboard, polystyrene, wood, and metal. To give shape and stability to artificial rocks, the special Plam Net metal and clay mesh is also incorporated inside. In case of low thickness, a glass fiber mesh will be adopted instead.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the application of Plam Rock will also be preceded by the use of Deco Primer Base. Finally, after having modeled the mortar by hand or with the appropriate rubber molds and completed the structure of the artificial rocks, the architectural elements will be finished again with a corrector kit.
The final result will be an arch, a rock, a cave, a wooden trunk, or a waterfall with a great aesthetic effect able to ensure excellent performance in terms of water repellence and obviously resistance to atmospheric agents and wear.
