Patent ID: 8499522

Claim:
A concrete masonry veneer unit produced in a block machine from a concrete mix comprising: a homogeneous concrete body with front, rear, top, bottom, and side surfaces; a substantially planar front surface including a glossy finish on said front surface formed by grinding and sanding said front surface of said concrete body; a flat chamfered edge between said front surface and said top, bottom, and side surfaces; said top, bottom, and side surfaces having uninterrupted planar surfaces perpendicular to said front surface; said rear surface of said body is flat; two unglazed channels formed in said rear surface of said body with open ends at said top and bottom surfaces; said channels including a channel bottom and channel sidewalls; a web section between said channel bottom and said front surface; said bottom of each of said channels resides in a plane parallel with said front surface of said body; said sidewalls of said channels are at an angle of between 20 and 40 degrees with respect to an axis perpendicular to said channel bottom; said web section having a minimum thickness of at least one inch; and said veneer unit including a compressive strength of 1900 psi or greater.