Many new simulated stone products are available that combine the appearance of stone with the economy of concrete based units. It is important to detail simulated stone walls keeping the base material in mind. Prairie Stone and several other similar products are cement based units made with naturally colored crushed limestone aggregate.  By using natural crushed limestone material, these units appear very similar to actual stone units, however they should be detailed as concrete masonry veneers - not stone! This means using control joints every 24' o.c. and using continuous joint reinforcement at 16" o.c. vertically to control shrinkage cracking. Prairie stone units are set aside by the manufacturer to cure for 28 days to help control initial shrinkage. As always, a good wide and clean airspace, flashing and weep holes are paramount. Only specify units that contain integral water repellent.