Planning for 4-1/2” Stone Cladding

One of my early Miami Beach projects (over a decade ago) had a deceptively complex detail:
4-½" thick ledger stone cladding paired with exposed I-beams.

To make it work, we had to use triple 2x bucks around windows and doors just to match the face of cladding and maintain alignment.

Most design teams don’t catch this early enough—and by the time the stone shows up, the window rough openings are already framed wrong.

I help architects, builders, and owners anticipate these kinds of finish-to-structure transitions early—especially with heavy cladding like stone or cast concrete—so the bucks, bucks, and frames are sized correctly from the start.

Planning for 4-1/2” Stone Cladding