History
Northwest Tuffstone is a family owned and operated company that was started because 2nd and 3rd generation masons love the way it looks, its light weight, and its workability. All of Northwest Tuffstone's products are quarried from eastern Oregon and cut in Portland.
We are firm believers in keeping everything local, minimizing energy use and getting the most from our harvested stone as possible.
At Northwest Tuffstone, we have several phases of production. The first is to choose the best faces of the raw stone to cut off and create the Arroyo Canyon line.
The next step is to take what remains of the rock, and if there is enough of the surface showing, produce Arroyo Stackers.
We then take what remains after that and create our gorgeous Sage Creek line.
There are many advantages to this timeless stone. It has been used for thousands of years. Some of the world's most famous ancient landmarks used tuff stone, and they have stood the test of time. One of the advantages is that because of tuffstone's porosity, it is a very good insulator. Adding 2 inch thick cladding to a building makes a measurable difference in the heating and cooling of the building. A thicker cladding adds even more insulative value. A study was done in Turkey by two scientists. They tested the insulative value of tuff stone determined that a 6 inch cladding on a building in one of the harshest climates in Turkey saved energy. In fact, the study concluded that the savings of energy to heat and cool the building paid for the cladding in 4 years.
At Northwest Tuffstone, we are continually developing new styles and products. Currently, we are creating thin-stone veneer in several formats. These include:
1. Arroyo Canyon. This is the naturally weathered faces of the best stone. It is a blend of colors from the multi-colored lichen to the gray of the body of the stone, and in completely random shapes.
2. Sage Creek. This format is very intriguing. All sides of the stone are saw-cut, exposing the various colors and materials that were trapped in the ash when it began to be compressed. There are wood fragments; some decomposed, some slightly petrified. There are occasional shells and fossils, along with small, varying stones. Each piece is cut to 1-inch increments, both horizontically and vertically, creating an ease of installation that is rare and incredibly convenient, as all the stones are modular. The depths of this format vary to give it an interesting look, especially with shadows.
3. Arroyo Stackers. This latest style, Arroyo Stackers, has the advantage of the warm naturally weathered colors, but the square-cornered style of the Sage Creek.
We offer landscape rock from baseball size to grand piano sizes. The advantages of our boulders are that they are in pristine, weathered patina. They weigh about 50% of what basalt boulders weigh, so less machinery or manpower is required to harvest, truck, and place them.
We will upon request produce a full-sized veneer. This is layed on a footing and tied to the wall with wall-ties.
Our production process is very energy saving. Because of the weight of the stone, we can truck twice the volume of rock for the same energy as basalt. We use no water in our cutting process. The dust is collected with a vacuum system, and is used for various purposes including as a soil additive. The cutting takes about 5% to 10% of the electricity that harder stone takes to cut.