XL ledger panels: the 9 × 24 guide
Updated
An XL ledger panel is a split face or honed stone panel in the large 9 × 24 inch format (23 × 61 cm). It covers half as much again as a standard 6 × 24 panel, so a wall goes up with fewer pieces, fewer joints and a bolder pattern. This guide sets out the figures a buyer needs before ordering: coverage, crates, containers, finishes and installation.
XL against the standard 6 × 24
The standard ledger panel is 6 × 24 inches and covers 1 square foot. The XL panel keeps the 24 inch length but is 9 inches tall, so each panel covers 1.5 square feet. On a wall that means a third fewer horizontal joints and fewer pieces to set.
Scale is the other difference. On a double-height wall, a long facade or a large living room, small panels can read as a busy texture from across the room; the taller XL courses keep the wall calm and look closer to a dry-stacked wall of large stones. On a small fireplace or a narrow column the standard 6 × 24 is usually easier to fit and to cut.
How many XL panels you need
Divide the wall area in square feet by 1.5, then add 10 to 15 percent for cuts and breakage. A wall 12 feet wide and 10 feet high is 120 square feet: 120 ÷ 1.5 = 80 panels, plus 10 percent makes 88.
Outside corners take matching XL corner pieces, 9 × 18 inches. Each corner piece covers one 9 inch course, so a corner 8 feet high needs about 11 pieces (96 ÷ 9 = 10.7). Measure corners in feet of height and order them separately from the flats.
Crates and containers
XL flats are packed 108 to a crate: 15.06 m², or about 162 square feet. XL corners are packed 144 to a crate, about 212 linear feet. Every crate is a strapped wooden crate, heat-treated to ISPM-15 for export.
A 20-foot container takes 26 crates of flats: 391.56 m², or about 4,215 square feet. The load can be mixed, so a first container can carry several colours, flats and corners together.
Colours and finishes
XL panels are made split face in travertine and marble, in colours from Light and Philadelphia to Silver, Bursa Beige and Black Marble. Split face is the classic stacked-stone texture: rough, deep and different on every piece.
For contemporary walls there are also honed and sandblasted faces, sold under the names 2D, 3D, XLP and XLP Plus, in stones such as Diana Royal, Taja and Roman VC. They give a cleaner wall with sharper shadow lines; each colour page shows the face in photographs.
Thickness and installation
XL panels are about 3 to 4 cm thick. They are installed like any ledger panel: on a sound, clean substrate such as cement board or masonry, with a mortar or adhesive rated for natural stone veneer, starting at the bottom and staggering the joints so no two vertical joints line up.
Because each XL panel is larger and heavier than a 6 × 24, set the first course on a level ledger board and let each course take its weight before stacking far above it. Outdoors and on high walls, follow the adhesive maker's instructions and the local building code.
Ordering XL panels from Lidamer Stone
Lidamer Stone makes XL panels and XL corners in Denizli, Turkey, and ships them by the container to importers, distributors and stone yards. Samples are sent before every order, and a quote can be given delivered to your port or your yard.
