I have to do something with my siding on my house...I was going to go with vinyl siding,which I've done before,its a no brainer to install.

But have been thinking about stucco..I have never done this before,but I will always try something new..Was thinking of doing just the back side of my house,just to get the hang of it..Has anyone done stucco??From what I read,it doesn't seem to bad to do.Or should I just do vinyl?

 

When deciding on siding for our place i was going to do stucco... After looking into it and talking to the sales guy for stucco it seemed like a long drawn out process. Hang wire, scratch coat, good coat, make sure you can have ONE person do the final coat as the pattern will change between people.. I prefer stucco but ended up with Cedar siding... Its pretty easy to install BUT it requires stain every 5 to 7 years...

 

Stucco not done correctly can cause you tons of pain, masinly with water getting in behind it. There is acrylic stucco available now that is a little more forgiving apparently. It is quite the long process,hang the wire on the walls correctly so the weight of the stucco doesn't pull it off. Do the first scratch coat let it sit for 3 or 4 days to cure then do the final coat which i beleive you can colour so you don't need to paint it right away. If you do ned to paint it needs to cure for quite a while, especially if you use the rubberized coating.

 

I am planning on doing stucco on my skirting for my house... but I have never done it before

 

Over here there are a few old Italians that do stucco. They know their stuff.
What we did was I pulled all the old siding and left the tar paper on. Then we put 2" foam board on, then house wrap, then wire and the scratch coat. As per the Italians...leave the scratch coat over the winter...their rationale was...good cure. Last spring they came back and did the final coat.

I/we did not opt for the vinyl or elastic coatings. They just tinted the regular stuff and it turned out excellent. Not one crack in the stuff. I looked at new homes with all sorts of different colors and products. Some where perfect, some look bad...cracked, different colors, even stretch marks which I am told is because the wire was not put on tight enough and pulled away. What a mess to deal with on a new home!
Going to do the garage the same way. Got the wrap on, wire next week. Scratch before winter, final coat next spring.

Siding is a lot easier and cheaper...the neighbor did his in vinyl siding...he has parts of it that are loose and he has water and insect intrusion behind the loose pieces. I think all three have their merits and downfalls. Cedar is real nice...and needs more maintenance. Stucco can fall apart if not applied correctly but looks good and can seal things up good. Vinyl, affordable, easy to install and covers fast but can allow intrusion/fits loose sometimes.

 

Got to try it...You know me Kevin....To stubborn and cheap to outsource anything...Thats what happens when your raised on a farm..

 

I hear you Dave, I hear you... let me know how it goes, we can brainstorm together

 

stow has the best products. a good stow rep can give you a copy of the installation procedures and components to use. good pix. the elastomeric color coat can stretch several times its length. ones we put on 20 yeas ago still look good

 

We're a long way from New Mexico

 

That's ols school.
I've been working concrete, stone and mortar pretty much since I was about able to walk, my first memories of it was when I was about 3-4 with my Sicilian grandfather. He liked my company and it was fun working with him, he was a good and patient teacher. And we always had a glass of wine before sieasta - he got me a small glass, the size of a shooter glass -
My son started helping in his own way when he was almost 4 and I did our house in Romania. And yes, we ALWAYS leave the scratch coat to cure over the winter, so, if it cracks - and it does; it won't ruin your finishing coat.
While you can do the scratch coat pretty much year around I wouldn't do the finish untill May at the earliest. I got vinyl siding on my house, but if and when I'm done with the upgrades, stucco will be the way to go. With vinyl we got mice, ants, leaks, stucco is almost fooL proof. As a DYI, foR the finishing coat you could also use the stipple gun to apply the stucco, as long as the scratch coat is done properly. However, the scratch coat is MORE forgiving, and you can retouch it in the spring. Also, I NEVER EVER use the store bought mortar, I mix it myself at a ratio of 3:1 screened sand to cemment; add a couple of extra shovels of cement for every 30 shovels of sand.
You also need white wash powder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewash that have been previously cured(disolved in water) for at least a cpl of days. The longer the better and if it dries just add water and remix it. It turns into a milky paste, you wanna have it the consistency of runny sour cream.
For the mortar to be smooth to apply, add a bit of dish soap when mixing, about an ounce or two for each mortar mixer or a cpl of spoons/5 gallon bucket. Dish soap also works great on drywall mud, ceramic tile mortar, concrete(small jobs - sidewalks, etc.), stippled ceilings. I use Superstore Lemon scented but that's just my preference.

 

I didn't stick around for much of what the old boys did but what you are describing...'appeared' to be what they did. Our final coat last spring went on right before May long wknd.
They did hand mix/shovel everything themselves...a load of sand was dumped on the driveway and they used almost all of it. The old mixer they had looked like it was from the stoneage. Real nice guys, very detailed and precise at everything.

Of course I had all sorts of input from neighbors, inlaws and even people driving by.