Earlier this week I was previewing a home with lots of eye-catching stone work. As I made my way down the walk to the front door, I cringed at the steps at the front stoop. My eyes were drawn to the bluestone steps with an unnatural mix of rough and sawn edges on the treads.
It was a major distraction to the impressive stone work and didn’t fit with the look and feel of a country home. Straight, sawn edges aren’t commonly found in nature. Since stone on a county home is used to incorporate natural variation in color and surface, these cut edges seem out of place, especially if edge types are mixed.
The nearby image shows what is often called a flamed edge. Most stone suppliers offer this flamed edge to achieve a natural or “old world” look.
For pieces that must be cut in the field, one common technique is to use an acetylene torch to rough up or distress the edges so all stone in a project has a consistent look. Often, the edges are wet before heating to help create flakes and blisters that complete the look.
These techniques are discussed in a Bob Vila video on installing bluestone front steps at a renovation project.
Here’s a very short video of the flaming technique being applied to a stair tread. The finished look is worth every bit of the small amount of time it takes.
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