Cast Stone School

Cast stone and precast concrete by Ventura Cast Stone, Inc.
(805) 386-8185   Fax: (805) 671-9371  E-Mail (Click Envelope)

Ventura Cast Stone, Inc is a family owned and managed business, specializing in the manufacture and installation of concrete coping, GFRC lightweight concrete, concrete wall cap, concrete pool coping and landscape items including custom historic restoration projects.
Sited in purpose built storage facility in Ventura County, the Company is ideally located to install in the whole of the greater Los Angeles area.

Questions and answers?
 

Where is your yard?
We have a yard in Somis, Ventura county, California, where we make, repair and store our concrete form liners.

Do you have, or can you recommend installers?
We have in-house installation crews of the highest quality who install mainly in the greater Los Angeles areas, including Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.

What textures and colors do you have?
We have 2 textures in our concrete line and 10 textures in our  GFRC line (see our product page).
We have 12 standard colors in our concrete line and 12 standard colors in our GFRC line for which there is no up charge and can make the concrete in custom colors for a small charge (see our color charts).

Do you have a catalog of forms?
We use in-house forms mostly, and make our own forms onsite if a custom shape is required, click this link to visit the catalog
We can also custom make almost any form liner or profile desired. Just e-mail us your CAD files or fax us your drawings.

Do you have CAD files for Architects?
Architects requiring CAD files, please go to our catalog page for the download links.

Do you have a designer who can help with generating plans for concrete projects?
We have a experienced in house designer who can help with the design and suggest form profiles to match the architectural style of the house.
Our designer works closely with the architect, contractor and home owner to value engineer the project without losing the architects intent.
We also have a in house CAD draughtsman to generate a set of details for review and approval by the architect, homeowner or contractor.
In most cases we supply plans. If you are just researching a future project we can recommend experienced architects who are also familiar with precast and cast stone.

How do I start?
The beginning of a project mostly starts with the architectural plans, from those plans, Ventura Cast Stone, Inc can generate a quote which is either faxed or e-mailed to the client.
If the quote is accepted, we visit the project, take field measurements and generate shop drawings for the owner and architect to see exactly how the profile of each coping will look. Then if the project is complicated, we make detailed architectural shop drawings of the areas concerned, which shows the framer, plasterer, installer and anyone else concerned just how everything ties together, this way there are no mistakes.

How does concrete compare to limestone or other real stone products?
Hand finished, textured concrete is hard to tell from stone. However, concrete is more durable and because it is hand finished, can be more detailed with the right architectural profile.
Precast concrete or GFRC can be made to resemble many natural stones.

Can custom parts be made?
We can make almost anything from photographs with dimensions or plans you submit.
There is a tooling charge for making the form.
 

About Ventura Cast Stone
 

Cast stone

We at Ventura cast stone are pleased to introduce this lightweight cast stone historic restoration or lightweight precast concrete if you will, into our line of precast concrete and cast stone. Because lightweight cast stone is made from fiberglass strand mixed with real limestone which gives it that stone look, it is suitable for fireplace mantle treatments.

Lightweight precast concrete
 Lightweight precast concrete is usually called GFRC or glass fiber reinforced concrete, and is manufactured by Ventura cast stone and installed in the Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and Beverly Hills. Precast concrete usually weights 100 lbs per cubic foot.  Gfrc usually weights 10 lbs per lin foot.  Precast concrete is a lower end product and does not simulate limestone as does cast stone. Precast concrete resembles finished concrete and the surface looks like your garage floor. Cast stone resembles limestone or sandstone. Lightweight GFRC precast concrete is not a new product but has been used for years, but not in architectural uses. We have many limestone and sandstone designs installed in the Los Angeles area.

Precast concrete
Precast concrete is usually used in lower end track homes where budget is a concern, cast stone is usually used in higher end homes where budget is not a major concern. The difference between Napa Valley cast stone and precast concrete is easily seen, and even the novice can appreciate the high quality limestone like finish on a cast stone historic restoration product. Fireplace mantels or as some call them fireplace mantles look beautiful when constructed from cast stone. Cast stone fireplace mantels are used in any situation.  The fireplace mantels are both strong and fireproof. Fireplace mantels are a thing of beauty when made from Napa Valley cast stone or precast concrete. Fireplace mantels are also made from wood. Fireplace mantels or fireplace chimneys are the main feature in any room and a fireplace mantel made from cast stone or fineline precast concrete is a sight to behold.
Cast stone by Ventura Cast Stone installed in California city's such as Los Angeles, Beverly Hills precast, Bel Air, Ventura or Santa Barbara has to be mechanically fastened to the wood frame of a building usually with stainless steel or galvanized attachments, this because of earthquake codes.  There are many historical buildings in Beverly Hills California with cast stone as part of their facade.  Cast stone in Los Angeles, Beverly hills cast stone and precast, Bel Air, Ventura and Santa Barbara historic restoration was at it's most popular in the 1900's.  In Santa Barbara, cast stone was used extensively in the downtown district and also in a primitive form at the Santa Barbara mission in the form of adobe, a mixture of mud and straw or horsehair mixed with water and hand shaped into molds.  We have many limestone and sandstone designs installed in the Los Angeles area. Our cast stone and fineline precast GFRC columns, balusters, window-door trim, wallcap and landscaping items are used in residential precast GFRC columns or commercial precast GFRC columns, or residential cast stone columns or commercial cast stone columns..
Cast stone historic restoration in the City of Ventura was used mainly on churches in the downtown area.  Napa Valley Cast stone in Los Angeles was used in many important buildings including the famous Los Angeles City hall.  In Santa Barbara cast stone and Santa Barbara stone were used in conjunction in many historical buildings.  Santa Barbara stone also called Santa Barbara sandstone, is found mainly in Santa Barbara county, is removed from the ground in loose form, the Santa Barbara stone is then cut and shaped by a stonemason into useable blocks.  Cast stone in Beverly Hills was used in the Beverly Hills City hall and is now used on many residential buildings historic restoration. 

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