AboutDavid Coil/C. R. Construction Expertise I can answer most any remodel and repair question. I have done almost everything...and done it well. From foundations to the roof. I have helped MANY from all experts.com recently.
Experience Most expertise is carpeting, flooring, tile, sheetrock, electrical and plumbing. 40 yrs of experience in all trades.
Organizations I am a licensed contractor in California and Nevada.
One other question - is it necessary (or even recommended) to put plywood sheathing under stucco? I've seen this done here in California on new construction (assuming it's for earthquake protection) and was just wondering what the thoughts were on that. I see that the original stucco on the house was installed directly over the 2x4's with felt underneath.
Also wondering if you have any good leads on installing stucco. I found a pdf file for installing it but it's not REAL specific on applying it.
Thanks,
Erik
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Followup To
Question -
Thanks David,
My only concern with the Diamond wheel was the metal chicken wire underneath the stucco. Won't that damage the diamond blade?
Thanks,
Erik
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Followup To
Question -
Hi David,
I'm in the process of helping my brother install two new french doors on the back wall of his home. Currently he has two windows of greater width then the new doors will be but since the stucco surrounding the windows is in bad shape I plan to rip out a fair portion of the back wall. His house is clad in stucco and I'm wondering what the best tool for removing that stucco would be. In my mind, since the stucco consists of the stucco/plaster and the wire mesh I would assume that a grinder with a masonry cut-off wheel would do the trick.
Thanks,
Erik
Answer -
You are 80% correct. Use a diamond wheel instead of the masonry. Much easier.
Answer -
Amazingly the diamond wheel wont even notice the wire. An occasional spark may appear, but you wont notice the ease of which it cuts thru....untill you hit multi layers of wire.
Answer You are pretty close to reality. The plywood is mostly for wind and seismic activity, but it does make the stucco job go easier. Stucco does not need the plywood, in some cases it is better without. When you have just the paper and wire, you tend to put on a thicker coat. A good thing.
Applying stucco is an art. I have done many small jobs...and still learning. The basic principal, first coat is to cover the wire. Just as it starts to "set" it needs to be scratched. Called the scratch coat. This adds area for the second coat to bond to. The second coat, the "brown" coat is the leveling coat to get as near smooth as possible, but rough enough for the finish coat to bond to. The finish coat is the part that shows. It can be fairly smooth or extremely rough. It can have color added or painted later. Goal is a "concrete" layer of 7/8" or greater.
