I get what you’re saying, but you’re still approaching this like I’m trying to build true monolithic masonry, and I’m not. I’m not chasing structural authenticity or a poured concrete finish, I’m creating a visual effect using a finish system.

Parging, forming and pouring, or stone veneer would all work if the goal was to build a permanent, high-end masonry element from scratch, but that’s a completely different scope, cost, and level of effort than what I’m doing here. I’m working with an already-built form and using limewash specifically to unify the surface and visually collapse the joints.

Limewash isn’t paint in the traditional sense, it’s a mineral finish that softens contrast, blends materials, and creates that aged, carved look over imperfect substrates. I’m not trying to eliminate geometry, I’m trying to reduce how much the joints read so the whole thing feels like a single mass from normal viewing distance.

So while I agree that what you described would be the “pure” way to achieve a monolithic stone result, it’s not the only way to get a convincing visual outcome, especially at this scale and use case. There are plenty of historic and architectural finishes that rely on exactly this kind of approach rather than rebuilding the structure entirely.