The side you see from the water
Lake houses have two fronts. The driveway side is what guests see. The lake side is what everybody on a boat sees, and on most lots it's the tall side: a walkout basement, a high deck on posts, and a lot of bare concrete running down toward the shore.
That's where veneer does the most. Stone on the exposed foundation and the deck supports turns the bottom of the house from a concrete wall into something that belongs beside the shoreline ledge and the old stone walls in the woods.
Wet lots and what they ask of stone
Waterfront lots are wet. Groundwater sits high, the soil holds moisture, fog comes up off the lake, and snow piles deep on the shaded side of the house. All of that puts more water against the bottom of a house than a dry hilltop lot ever sees.
So the basics count for more here. Keep the first course up off the soil. Keep water from getting in behind the top edge. Flash every deck ledger and door. Make sure gutters and downspouts carry water away from the stone. And watch where snow slides off the roof. A metal roof can drop a whole winter of snow onto the same few feet of wall, and stone there takes a beating. Natural stone handles getting wet just fine. What causes trouble is water trapped behind it, freezing in January.
New Hampshire's shoreland rules
New Hampshire's Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act covers work within 250 feet of a public lake or pond, including work on existing buildings, digging and adding fill. Stone veneer mostly stays on the house, but trenching along a foundation or changing the grade near the water can fall under the rules.
Check with NHDES or your town before any digging starts close to the lake.
Stone that matches the lot
Lakes Region properties are full of stone already. Granite ledge at the shore, old fieldstone walls back in the trees, stone steps down to the dock. Natural veneer picked to match what's already on the lot looks like it came out of the same ground. Cast stone in a catalog color usually doesn't.
Kevin also builds New Hampshire fieldstone walls, stone steps and flagstone walkways, so the stone on the house can tie into the stone running down the slope to the water.
Access and seasons
Plenty of lake houses are only lived in part of the year, and waterfront lots can be tight, steep, or reachable only down one narrow driveway. Getting stone to the lake side of a house can be the hardest part of the job. Send photos of the access along with photos of the wall.
If you're not up at the lake right now, that's fine. Photos and a few rough measurements are enough to start the conversation.
