# Stucco thickness. Help needed asap



## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

I'll try to keep it short. Poorly flashed window destroyed sheathing (tongue and groove), wall studs, and sill. Repair size - 15 feet high x 5 feet wide. Paid a contractor to cut stucco, replace studs, ply, tyvek, wire lathe and scratch coat. I told him I would do the stucco texture coat. He did all that but left me with 3/4" to 1" to make up to be even with existing stucco. He's not coming back. How do I proceed to make up 1"??? The scratch coat sucks because it hardly has surface to grab on to. He said to build it up with more layers of wire lathe. I just left HD and saw that a PACK OF 10 sheets is only about 3/8 in thick. 
Ideas I can up with...01. Wire lathe over the current scratch coat followed by vertical battens or strips of folded over wire (multiple times) with another wire layer and buy a stucco sprayer. 02. plastic wood battens with 1/2" styrofoam in between, then wire, then traditional troweled on mortar. 03. Wrap 3/8 ply with tyvek and screw right though the new scratch coat and wire on top of that. 
Totally at a loss here. I welcome your suggestions.


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## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

Put a spatterdash coat over the top, and then build up the render/stucco in coats.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

You list your trade as Carpentry.

Why are you hiring a Contractor to do the repairs?

Starting to smell like a DIY/HO.:no::whistling


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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

Simple...just put 8 finish coats on 

1/8" x 8 = 1" :thumbup:


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

Spatterdash coat? I'll google it I suppose. And FYI, I had to hire someone to do the job unfortunately because I headed back to school evenings to get a state teaching license and I have to student teach at the moment. There is no way around it. The project was too big for weekends and weather looked iffy. I've done stucco work but I did it start to finish. Never encountered having to make up 1" over such a large area.


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

Found it - 
"Spatterdash, also called roughcast, is a rough, textured stucco style created by applying the stucco with a stiff brush. Sand and lime are often added to cement stucco mortar to create the somewhat thick texture needed to achieve this style. Small sand or stone pebbles are added to the stucco to create a raised, bumpy surface"
I worked on an older stucco house several years ago that used the vertical wood battens I mentioned. It was typical pine board sheathing covered in tar paper, then furring strips nailed vertically, then wire lathe. The mortar was then equally thick on both sides of the wire and not completely pressed up against the paper creating the drainage plain. 
Don't know if I'm good enough with the trowel. That's why I thought to maybe spray the face. And again, my time is limited these days.


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## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

Spatterdash is a strong sand/cement mix, very wet, put on with a stipple type brush or Tyrolean gun. It creates a good key for the next coat. SBR bonding agent can also help.


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

I watched someone use one of those hand crank devices, never knew what it was called, but they were only filling in the equivalent of a small window that was blocked up. I've got 15 feet x by 5 feet. 
Anybody have any other ideas? (Not that the last one wasn't good).
I was considering buying a stucco sprayer like this http://www.mortarsprayer.com/ and throwing it up on ebay at half price.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Put on wonderboard, then lathe over that?


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

why is the existing stucco so thick?


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

Wonderboard, hmmm...Anybody see any drawbacks?
The stucco is thick for a few reasons that I can see. It's a traditional 3 coat. Scratch, brown, stucco. It looks as if an older repair or a second layer of stucco was added years ago, although I'm not entirely sure. Then it was painted (not adding much to the thickness of course) Still the scratch coat is damn thick. My house was built in '28.


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## Rockmonster (Nov 15, 2007)

I like the idea of battens, but I would use galvanized.....maybe ceiling batten, or ultra furring.....get creative with the lath, buy the stucco sprayer and bang it out. And I will then buy the unit from you for half price......bypassing ebay. I think you'll be fine. Good luck!


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## stuart45 (Oct 7, 2009)

I've taken a lot of old stucco off house walls that was at least 1 inch thick. 
The plasterers liked to get the walls spot on plumb and flat. The theory was that you could put a 6 ft straight edge anywhere on the wall and not get a postcard under it.
If the brickwork was bowed or slightly out of plumb in places it might need dubbing out first making the render thicker. 
I don't see an inch being a real problem, most of the old houses with solid walls need at least that on the walls to get them right.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

Well my friend,advices above were faster than I am.

Quiet honest with you,I do not know what kind of yoyo you hired. Any plasterer in clear mind would have not done that knowing existing is one inch thick.

Thats where you lay thicker scratch and brown coats.


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

He's not a bad contractor overall. Just did it fast because I said I would do the topcoat and match the freestyle texture of the house. I hope the pic uploads but you can see that there is not much to even grab on to. I loaned him my mortar comb (and he probably handed it to guys on the scaffold) and I guess they didn't know how to use it. The pic probably doesn't show how deep that is but it's 3/4 to 1 1/8 across the whole 15x5 surface. I know i'll have to hang more wire at a minimum. Can I trowel on 3/8 to a 1/2" and make sure to comb it well enough to take another 3/8 to 1/2" and then get the texture coat on???. Angry to say the least. What about that wonderboard idea. could i screw 1/2" backer board up and then wire and mortar over that?. Time is of the essence as the nights are starting to get cold. And I still have to set cut and set tile around the window above.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

If it were me I would be looking to use wonderboard with an adhesive and screws, then lathe and then finish. It looks like it will still be 1/2 thick even padded out.

The guy should have used thicker plywood or 2 pieces, or something...

Did he get paper behind the old stucco?


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## Diamond D. (Nov 12, 2009)

griz said:


> You list your trade as Carpentry.
> 
> Why are you hiring a Contractor to do the repairs?
> 
> Starting to smell like a DIY/HO.:no::whistling





stephen001 said:


> Wonderboard, hmmm...Anybody see any drawbacks?
> The stucco is thick for a few reasons that I can see. It's a traditional 3 coat. Scratch, brown, stucco. It looks as if an older repair or a second layer of stucco was added years ago, although I'm not entirely sure. Then it was painted (not adding much to the thickness of course) Still the scratch coat is damn thick. *My house was built in '28*.


Ah ha, just as we thought.

Usa a fortifier and put on a heavy brown coat.
If need be, do it twice.
You've, "done stucco work before"

Git er done,
D.


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## stephen001 (Jan 14, 2007)

He used tyvek. I've used 30lb felt behind everything else personally. Claims to have gone 12" behind existing stucco. That remains to be seen. Yes, he should have used the 3/4 ply to repair the rotted sheathing and then maybe 5/8 ply again. But he didn't. And then he quickly wired and scratch coat. So here I am. 
You think polyurethane construction adhesive with rock on screws?


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Tyvek isnt a moisture barrier, just so ya know. You might be better off just ripping it out and doing it over. It would take 30 mins to yank it off.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

Just weld-crete it and put two more scratch coats on top...easy as that. dont hire the hack next time.


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