Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by jeff on May 19, 2010 at 3:30pm

whole house re-lath, with a brown & finish coat will absolutely produce the best (most consistent) finish product in comparison to the other ad-hoc repair scheme. i'd demand a bonding agent over the existing stucco too.

i'd avoid that other scheme unless it was significantly cheaper and particularly if you have a pueblo-style house with parapets, elastomeric finish coats *can* trap water behind it, unlike a cemetitious finish coat, causing it to bubble off. elastomeric finish coats demand a high-quality applicator and substrates - that repair method does not lend it self to an even consistent substrate.

in any event, making sure the lath is held off the face of the existing stucco (particularly at the parapets) and all openings / plane changes are reinforced is super critical.

Permalink Reply by hb on September 7, 2010 at 12:52pm

Thanks Jeff. The workers just started with the repair - we decided to go with the cement finish. I was wondering if you know how long the first grey coat should dry before the bonding agent is applied and then before the color coat is applied. Thanks for the info.

Hannah

Permalink Reply by jeff on September 7, 2010 at 1:31pm

the bonding agent is supposed to be applied to the existing stucco surface before the new brown coat, not to the new brown coat.

48 hours is the minimum curing time for portland cement stucco coats; longer is better and ideally you'll want to fog the surface with water as it's curing a few times.

Permalink Reply by hb on September 7, 2010 at 2:02pm

thanks -

is the new brown coat the same as the patch work cement? 'cause that's what they're putting on the house first (the mesh with grey cement) then they said they would bond the whole house, then put the color coat on. I hope that sounds right. The finished the parapets with mesh and portland cement. How often should I fog the surface while it cures?

again, thank you!

Permalink Reply by jeff on September 7, 2010 at 2:45pm

sorry but i'm a little confused now.
what do you mean by patch work cement?

if you're re-covering the whole house with portland cement stucco, then the sequence should be:
patching where you've got problem areas, then bonding agent over the entire surface, then lath, then a brown coat, then a color coat.

there's no compelling reason i'm aware of to spray a bonding agent on a new brown coat except to make work.

fog it so it stays damp, don't stress over it though. you're just trying to stack the deck in your favor by letting it cure slowly and uniformly to avoid unnecessary cracking.

Permalink Reply by hb on September 7, 2010 at 3:03pm

yes - recovering the whole house - they just finished patching where we've got cracks and problems and covering all the parapets with mesh and cement.

this should cure for a week they said and I'll fog it so it cures evenly, I hope. If I am understanding them correctly they will then bond the whole house and then put the color coat. Sounds like they are missing two steps - lath and brown coat. The owner is stopping by this afternoon so I'll be sure to get the story straight. Thanks for the advice.

Permalink Reply by evil242 on November 19, 2010 at 10:34am

@jeff: I've seen some jobs around town that apply foam insulation underneath. My house has what seems to be a mix of red brick, and CMU cinder block. What's your opinion of the insulation, or what other things can be done to up the R value of the walls?

Thanks in advance.

Permalink Reply by jeff on November 20, 2010 at 10:25am

it's a great idea for masonry buildings. typically, you essentially need to decide if your interior finishes need more work than your exterior - the cheapest is the one you remove to insulate & refinish. however, a huge advantage of insulating the exterior in our climate is that you prevent quite a bit of heat from entering the masonry mass, so cooling is much much easier and efficient. another nice thing about exterior insulation is that you don't reduce your interior floor area but you're technically increasing the overall size your home exterior, which helps a bit in s.f. calcs for resale.

there are two caveats - 1) is that all opening needs to be detailed and built competently - depending on the system selected - once water gets between the insulation and the exterior finish, you've got problems. 2) is that if you use a stucco, you want a good 3-coat portland cement stucco finish that is thick and durable to prevent an impacts from puncturing the exterior finish. a traditional EIFS system is prone to punctures and shouldn't be used anywhere near where people walk or can touch the facade.

this is the eifs stuff - note how thin the skin is...

Permalink Reply by Jeanann on April 4, 2011 at 12:46pm

If I understand all the preceding information, when the whole house is covered with wire and re-stuccoed, you still need to repair all existing cracks and other damage first??

Permalink Reply by jeff on April 4, 2011 at 1:03pm

well, you want to address the reason why you have cracks and other damage before you re-stucco.