How to Install Interior Adhered Veneer

Wash masonry or cement backer board walls clean using a sponge and a soap and water mixture. Add soap to warm water until suds develop, dampen a sponge in the mixture, and then clean the wall. Rinse off the wall with clean water, and allow it to dry before continuing.

Remove any drywall on the wall’s surface, and replace it with cement backer board to create a surface sturdy enough for the veneer. Place a drop cloth on the floor beneath the wall to catch debris. Use a utility knife to cut the drywall at the corners of the wall and along the ceiling joint to avoid damaging adjacent surfaces. Put on a pair of safety goggles, work gloves and a particle mask.

Pull off the baseboard along the base of the wall using a prybar. Slide the prybar under the baseboards, and then pull it away from the wall. Work down the board’s length as you pull it away to keep the board from bending to the breaking point.

Cut a square-foot hole in the center of the drywall with the utility knife. Place a hammer through the hole, and then knock out the drywall from the rear until you reach a drywall board edge secured to a wall stud. Use the prybar to lift the drywall by the edges nailed into place to the studs. Continue to pry off large pieces of drywall until you’ve cleared the wall; use your hand to pull the pieces free. Use the claw end of the hammer to pull out the nails from the studs in the wall.

Measure the height of the wall from base to ceiling using a tape measure. Cut the cement backer board to fit the measured height, less 1/4 inch to allow for a gap along the floor. Score a line at the cutting point, using a straightedge to keep the line straight along the board’s surface. Snap the board at the scored line to break the board to the needed length.

Set the board against the wall, leaving the 1/4-inch gap between the base of the board and the floor. Nail the board into place using 1 1/4-inch corrosive-resistant roofing nails through the board and into the wall studs, spaced about 8 inches apart.

Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to create enough boards to cover the wall. Leave a 1/4-inch gap between boards. Cut the final board in the row lengthwise to fit in the last space between the adjacent board and the end of the wall.

Make room for electrical outlets. Measure the distance between the floor and the board adjacent to an outlet, and use the measurements to mark the outlet location on the backer board with a pencil. Score the outlet location onto the board with the utility knife, and then punch the cut area out with the hammer. Place the cut board onto the wall studs with the hole surrounding the outlet box.

Fill the gaps between the boards with thinset mortar. Use a trowel to push the mortar into place. Tape over the mortared gaps with fiberglass tape.

Cover the wall surface with a 1/4-inch-thick bed of thinset mortar using the flat of a notched trowel. Scrape the edge of the trowel through the mortar to create ridges in the mortar surface.

Set the veneer stone to the mortared surface, pressing firmly to make certain the mortar spreads across the rear of the stones. Tap the stones lightly with a rubber mallet to set them securely into the mortar. Leave a gap of about 1/8 inch between placed stones to allow for wall movement.

Fill the gaps between the stones with mortar, using a grout bag to squeeze the mortar into the joint lines. Allow the stones to set in place for seven days before touching the wall.