Any tips to someone about to stucco their house?

[jdeity]

I figured with such a diverse crowd there's surely some contractors on here that may be able to provide some pointers. The 'DIY/homeowner' forums are horrible, and the contractor forums don't take kindly to DIY'ers.

I have a cement block house, that was painted, and later covered with vinyl siding. My plan is to rip off the vinyl siding, and to stucco my exterior.

I've already studied the basics a ton, and feel very confident, and will be working from the back of the house (actually I'll be starting on the shed lol. Basically I'll be starting in less prominent areas).

I've got like 10 websites that have instructions, and a stack of books from the library. There seems to be two ways of applying the stucco: just directly over the blocks, or apply the metal lathe first.

I don't want to do the lathe, I want to apply it directly to the block. *But*, I can't find good instructions anywhere on how to best prepare my concrete blocks for the stucco.



so, if anyone here could shed some light or point me in the right direction, it'd be huuuuuuugely appreciated. As of right now, I'm thinking of just using the concrete etching stuff over the blocks, then using the concrete bonding agent, and stucco after that. If there's anyone here who works with this kind of stuff who could shed light it'd be so helpful (about to close on my first house in a few days hopefully, and have a huge list of renovations, feeling overwhelmed and want to make sure this large part of the renovations goes smoothly)

[Roddy]

talk to one of the ****ers at home depot in their contracters area. Those guys have experience. usually.

[jdeity]

haha I've already done that at both home depot and lowes, both were solid, but wanted more specifics. They knew their stuff for the most part, but so do I. I need to know more specifics for my project, and they were wishy washy on those.

btw, how's your progress going?

[hardgainer169]

I'm no expert but I've worked a few years construction.

I imagine you'll wnat to get the paint of first. Maybe a high pressure washer? Or just paint remover. Once the paint is off, you ought to be able to just apply it to the block; at least that's how we did it.

[Roddy]

haha I've already done that at both home depot and lowes, both were solid, but wanted more specifics. They knew their stuff for the most part, but so do I. I need to know more specifics for my project, and they were wishy washy on those.

btw, how's your progress going?

Decent i'm gonna shoot you a PM in a bit here. I actually work construction myself but dont know anyone who does stucco work, otherwise i'd get you someones number.

[Holto]

One word: Durock

You can google it. It's 100% waterproof and 100% adhesive and dries to a solid like concrete. You can also make it look like stone by carving it before it totally cures. It's crazy. I can't wait to get my first house and start experimenting with it. I've seen some driveways recently that were breathtaking. If you paint it right it looks like real stone.

[Munky]

I only have experience doing foundation walls. Nothing really special you have to do to prep the blocks just make sure theres no dirt or anything on there. I basicly just do 1 coat of stucco real smooth all around and let that dry then i would go back and do another coat over that and do the desired texture the home owner wanted 1 wall at a time. I don't know if this helps i'll ask my buddy who does stucco work all the time. I know for a fact they almost always use that wire mesh stuff and i would actually recommend that. I can really see how that would help hold the stucco together and keep if from cracking up as much.

[jdeity]

I'm going to prolly rent a powerwasher from home depot and blast the hell out of the house, then apply it, dunno.. I'll be sure to post pics when i'm done, they'll either be real nice, or real funny