Can A Lay Person Repair A Large Stucco Patch

At first glance, the seamless coat of stucco on the East Boston house looked as impenetrable every bit a sidewalk, the perfect foil against the harsh wet conditions of this coastal city. Yet beneath its lush cloak of ivy, the cement shell was a mess of cracks and buckling, signs that h2o had gotten in and damaged the underlying wood lath.

When properly installed, stucco (a cement- or lime-based plaster) is nearly as carefree and long-lived a cladding as anyone could wish—100 years is non uncommon. But when big cracks or blisters announced, the fourth dimension to make repairs is right away, before the damage grows.

Antonio DiSilva of MJM Masonry performed the remedial work on the E Boston house over ten days, ripping off loose fabric and patching it with three separate coats. Here'south how to make stucco repair that lasts.

Stucco Recipes

Stucco Recipes

Get-go glaze:

1⁄ii bag (47 lbs.) Portland cement
six shovels brick or masonʼs sand, slightly clammy
ane shovel hydrated lime
one⁄two cup acrylic bonding agent

Second and finish coats:

1⁄ii bag (47 lbs.) portland cement
eight shovels aggregate sand for physical
one shovel hydrated lime
1⁄2 cup acrylic bonding agent

Directions:

Shovel the dry ingredients into a wheelbarrow and blend them with a mortar hoe.
Add together the acrylic bonding amanuensis, then stir in h2o, a little at a fourth dimension, until the mix reaches the consistency of buttercream frosting.
Too much water volition go far loose and unworkable.
Once water is added, the mix will stay usable for 30 to xc minutes before it starts to harden.

Sentry The Weather

Freezing temperatures can ruin moisture stucco. Look for nighttime temperatures that stay above xl degrees earlier tackling repairs. Hot, dry out, windy conditions can likewise interfere by sucking out moisture the mix needs to cure properly. Work in the shade so the stucco doesn't dry too fast. Between coats, keep the patch moist past covering it with a plastic sail.

Work Safely

The alkalis in wet cement tin can cause burns. And so when working with fresh stucco, wear gloves or bear on the mix merely with your tools, non your fingers. Go along a bucket of water nearby to launder any splashes off your peel.

End It Correct

No patch, no thing how expertly textured, volition lucifer the color of the quondam stucco around it. To do that, y'all demand to apply a pigmented coating over the unabridged surface. The patch at this firm was covered with a thick, sprayed-on acrylic elastomer that bridges and seals hairline cracks. Other acceptable coatings include physical paints and stains, mineral paints, lime washes, and "fog coats" of pigmented cement. Whichever blanket you utilise, make certain it's alkaline metal tolerant and permeable to water vapor. Otherwise, information technology will be peeling off in no time.

Steps for Repairing Stucco

Footstep ane: Break Off Loose Stucco

Whack it with a hammer, or a hammer and a cold chisel, taking care non to damage the underlying wood lath supports. Middle protection is a must.

Footstep 2: Chip Abroad At The Edges

Proceed until y'all reach stucco that's firmly adhered to its lath. Cutting any metal mesh with snips.

Pace 3: Cover The Exposed Lath

Using a utility knife, trim a piece of grade-D builder's newspaper to fit tightly forth the purlieus where the old stucco meets the exposed wood lath. Fasten the paper to the lath with covering nails, then put a 2nd layer of newspaper on top of the first.

Step four: Add Mesh

Identify galvanized metal board over the paper and trim it tight confronting the edge of the stucco. Snips with first handles will brand this task easier. Bulldoze more roofing nails through the mesh and into the wood lath.

Footstep 5: Mix The Stucco

Following the outset-coat recipe, stir upwardly a batch of stucco, using a wheelbarrow equally a mixing basin. The acrylic bonding amanuensis added to this mix improves the adhesion of the new stucco to the old.

Pace vi: Sling It

Wet the edge of the one-time stucco so information technology won't suck moisture out of the patch and weaken the bond between erstwhile and new. Scoop fist-size wads of wet stucco onto a brick trowel and toss them against the wire board until it's completely covered. Shine the mix with a finishing trowel, then pack it confronting the edge of the existing stucco with a brick trowel. Keep adding more fabric until this layer is virtually 1/2 inch below the existing stucco surface.

Footstep vii: Scratch It

When the patch loses its moisture sheen, score its surface to ameliorate the bond to the next glaze. Tape a plastic sheet over the patch to keep it from drying out.

Stride 8: Apply Second Coat

Wait vii days, then remove the plastic and mist the patch with water. Mix up a batch of stucco following the second-coat recipe, and trowel on a 3/eight-inch-thick glaze, working from the bottom up. Pack down the edges with a brick trowel. Await for the wet sheen to disappear, then trowel the patch smooth, merely beneath the level of the existing stucco. Cover again with a plastic sheet.

Step ix: Put On The Stop Coat

Subsequently iii days, remove the plastic, mist the patch, and mix upward a fresh batch of stucco, following the stop-glaze recipe. Dissimilar textures crave different techniques. To match this wall'due south original "dash" terminate, DiSilva scooped small-scale globs of moisture mix onto his brick trowel, then flicked them against the wall until they were flush with the old surface.