My wife and I would like to change the outdoor chimney of my fireplace to a stone face from the cedar wood face it now has. The chimney is a framed studded box wrapped in tyvek and covered in cedar tongue and groove now.

Not sure of what kind of backing to put on wall after removing the tongue and groove to have stone adhere properly.

I do not want to use real full size stone because of the weight and work involved in doing this. Can I use a stone product that is easier to install by a homeowner without having to build a cement footer and such? What options do I have? I know there is prefab stone that can be glued and stuck on wall but will in endure the outside climate of central NJ area?

I would welcome all replies and help in this project. I'm a landscape contractor and have knowledge in building as well but never did a project like this one yet.