Procter is one of the UK’s leading cast stone specialists and offers a comprehensive service to design, manufacture, supply and install high quality bespoke artificial stone products throughout the UK, as well as supplying a range of standard products from stock. Cast stone products are made from a semi-dry format that is cost-effective and gives consistent quality and colour, and is therefore ideal for a very wide range of property types including residential, retail, religious, self-build, ornamental and restoration applications.
Cast stone, or reconstituted stone as it is also called, is an attractive and very cost effective alternative to quarried stone. (This assumes that the quality is excellent and although our products certainly are, this can’t be said for all that are available in the market.)
Architectural designs can be reproduced in cast stone to create a wide range of decorative features to enhance new buildings, or match natural stonework for sympathetic restoration. Stone has traditionally been used to add character and style to prestigious properties, but today architects are using cast stone instead, achieving the same or better visual impact and with the added benefits of lower cost and reduced project risk.
Almost any three-dimensional geometric form can be cast, allowing architects to design elegant curves as well as straight-edged features. Additional details can also be incorporated into the surface, such as brick effects or channels, and the edges of units can be square, bevelled or radiused. Furthermore, a variety of surface finishes and textures can be achieved. Cast stone can complement brickwork, natural stone, or rendering.
While a degree of care is required for site handling of cast stone units – and reputable suppliers will provide Handling Instructions Download (or request your Handling Guideline Chart) – larger cast stone units can have features cast in place to facilitate mechanised lifting. This simplifies site handling and minimises the risk of damage to the units and injury to the operatives.
Moulds can be created to replicate existing natural stone features where a building is being restored or extended.
Cast stone weathers in the same way as natural stone, there is no problem with installing new cast stone units alongside existing natural stone. Cast stone therefore be used during the refurbishment of older properties or for extensions or alterations.
Standard colours are available to match natural stone such as York stone, Bathstone, Red Sandstone or Portland stone, while non-standard colours can also be produced to meet a client’s specific requirements.
Recent surveys have indicated that cast stone makes residential developments more attractive to prospective purchasers to the extent that they would be prepared to pay significantly more for a property with cast stone exterior features than they would for a comparable property without them. And because the cast stone features add almost nothing to the build cost, such as arches, balustrades, bullseyes, copings, cornices, porticos, steps and window and door surrounds can be selected from a catalogue or manufactured to an architect’s design. Cast stone is a very effective way to add style to prestigious developments.
Cast stone is extremely cost-effective in comparison with natural quarried stone, especially where repetitive work is concerned or where standard items are specified from a supplier’s catalogue.
