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Formstone was a brand of simulated stone stucco from Baltimore that was incredibly popular.

Brick townhouses in Baltimore covered with Formstone. Check out these 50's style awnings.

An amazing fact about Formstone is nearly all Formstone was put on between 1946 and 1956, when Formstone Company went out of business. Formstone had to be a huge industry to be able to cover as much of Baltimore, not to mention Washington, DC and other areas, as it did in a short 10 years.

There was a labor force in the early 50's created by unemployed plasterers displaced by drywall. A phenomenon like the Formstone boom would unlikely to happen these days with the labor shortage in construction.

Formstone, unlike other brands or methods of simulated stone, was hand tooled or sculptured in place. This guy's idea was to dig in a groove on every stone.

Permastone, by contrast, was mostly made with molds. Here's what I wrote about Permastone and pictures of Permastone molds.The mold was lined with wax paper, then cement mortar, and smacked against the wall before the cement set up. The wax paper created stone-like impressions in the mortar. Color and mica were sprinkled on the waxpaper and embedded in the stones.

A good picture of someone making Permastone molds can be found here:  Inspectapedia article on Permastone.

Of course, there were other brands and methods of making simulated stones. Some stones were cast and put on after they were set up. This probably allowed the mechanics to make the stones on rainy or cold days, or buy the stones pre-made. This is evidenced by repeating textures.

You may have seen what I wrote about simulated stone before:  Stucco and simulated stone stucco on old brick.

Good window sill design is probably a major reason that Formstone lasted a long time. Note the sills have a good pitch to shed water. Also, the sills are below the old window sill.

In the movie, Little Castles, you'll note the failure of Formstone was largely below the windows. The same is true these days. EIFS, one-coat stucco and real stucco usually fail due to rot below the window.

The failure of Formstone below the windows was likely due to bad sills. The sills were separated from the brick, not sloped allowing water to penetrate, or the level of the sill above the old window sill. On wood framing, probably lack of flashing above the window created damage below the window,

Formstone company went out of business in 1956 because of overwhelming warranty claims. Very few materials have ever had a 20 year guarantee. In addition to failure under windows, some applicators didn't use galvanized lath, but interior lath. This is a source of our work today, interior lath on the outside failing.

Most Formstone is still in excellent condition after 70 years.

Another great documentary about Formstone

These Five minute histories about Baltimore are from the Baltimore Heritage foundation. They present the unique and fascinating history of Baltimore.

Formstone that is 70 years old now will be 100 years old in another short 30 years, making it a historical material.

John Waters, Baltimore film maker called Formstone the polyester of brick. What he means is that formstone is a form of post modern art, since the craftsman shapes every stone by hand.

The Formstone cement was a secret Formula. Formstone had no shrinkage cracks, even though it was put on thick,and the stones were put on the same day. Formstone was also very crack resistent. You'll find very few cracks in Formstone,

Another mystic secret of Formstone was excellent color retention. The colors show very little bleeding and fading. I have eliminated the shrinkage crack on our jobs using bonding admixtures. Our method doesn't have nearly the color retention as Formstone. This may be another mystic secret lost to the ages.

One give-away that this is Formstone brand are these purple stones. Purple is a completely unearthy color and doesn't look like a stone at all, however, that is Formstone. Note the colors haven't streaked after 70or more years.

Formstone adds to the unique character of Baltimore, and it's historic buildings.