Making Amends

Plasterer Remedies Troublesome Stucco Exterior

Reprinted with permission of Walls and Ceilings, August 1997.

Toward the completion of the new one-story commercial building in Palo Alto, California, general contractor Ed Dreessen found himself in a troublesome situation. His plastering contractor was finishing the textured stucco exterior for the 1,400-square-foot building, and the owners weren’t pleased with the way it was turning out.

John and Debbie Dunce, the owners of the Southwestern-styled building in the historic section of Palo Alto, had specified a subtle, softly undulated finish for the stucco exterior; the plasterer had applied a heavy knocked-down texture.

When the couple realized the stucco exterior was not being completed to their satisfaction, they ordered work stopped. The plasterer attempted to even out the texture with the application of a fog coat. Not only did it not help the problem, it may have made matters worse. Dreessen was hard pressed to find a workable solution.

“This was a very aesthetically-specific plastering job. It required someone with an artistic touch,” said Dreessen. “The guy we hired was a good mechanic. He was just not as effective artistically.”

Through word-of-mouth, the general contractor enlisted the aid of Berkeley-based plasterer, Art Guerrero, whose artistic plastering skills and experience were instrumental in refinishing the stucco texture in a cost effective fashion. At first, Guerrero was gun-shy about taking on the repair.

“I was called in by the owners, who found out about me from another general contractor,” Guerrero recalled. “Initially, I was called in to consult. At the time I didn’t want to do the job. But the owners insisted.”

Guerrero’s initial inspection of the original application prompted doubts about how to best go about the repair. The original scratch and brown coats, applied over paper-backed wire, were structurally sound. However, the original plasterer had worked in the heavy texture in the brown coat, leaving pronounced differences in the thickness that had to be smoothed out. Moreover, the water and cement fog coat that had been applied would not allow for a secure bond of finish material.

“It was almost a crap shoot,” he said. “We came close to having to re-brown the whole building.”

Before any new material could be applied, the exterior required extensive preparation. A power-washer was used to strip the fog coat from the stucco and then a bonding agent was applied.

“The fact that he put that fog coat on made everything slick. So I had to put a liquid key on to provide for a good bond,” Guerrero said. “My stuff will only hold up as well as what’s underneath.”

Guerrero used Larsen Products’ Weld-Crete® to ensure a strong bond. “It is one of the few products that I will attest to and recommend heartily,” he noted.

As an added precaution, Guerrero consulted with Bill Johnson of La Habra Stucco, who not only offered suggestions on how to best work out the new finish, but also visited the project to observe the finish application. The two determined the texture could be worked out in a single coat using a blend of 20/30 and 30/30 finish material.

“The deciding factor to go with La Habra is the way the sand rolls,” said Guerrero. “It doesn’t gum up.”

To complete the texture application, Guerrero and an assistant, Oscar Jimenez, applied the finish at a slow deliberate pace, hitting the low spots on the wall first, then coming back and working over the rest of the wall. At a pace of three sacks a day, the application took a week to complete.

“We scratched it out, came back and floated it with a sponge float. We then came back and doubled it up with a swimming pool trowel in some spots to create movement,” Guerrero said. “By movement, I mean we had to create an actual visible pattern that was consistent. Then I came back and touched it up in spots and floated it in spots to give it a nice monolithic look.”

The resulting finish, which Guerrero calls Peninsula Mission, has a nice subtle texture that is not overdone.

“When we finished on the job everybody was happy,” Guerrero said. “The general contractor was happy because we didn’t have to come back and brown out the whole building.”

Although the stucco application was a troublesome aspect of the project, Dreessen doesn’t hold anything against the original plasterer, who had worked for the contractor on prior jobs. “I would not fault the original contractor for not having the artistic abilities,” he said.

Dreessen also has a new-found regard for Guerrero’s abilities as well. “He prides himself on being qualified, competent and very knowledgeable. And he performed as we had hoped,” said Dreessen. “He gave the owners the specific aesthetic effect they wanted.”