Any stucco guys out there ?

[RBI]

Just a question from simply curiosity .

Good stucco work vs Bad ...

Mostly I'm questioning standard 3 coat mortar on wire and paper.

I have a new place going in directly across the street from me

It's actually two 3 unit buildings ( front and back ) on what used to be a Duplex.

Have been watching this thing going up since Feb.

Anyway, when the stucco finally got done, at first I thought it looked good, then I crossed the street, and realized that it looked like ...well let's just say " Not Good " . and even worse when I walked to the next property and looked at it from an angle.

From straight on at a bit of a distance , they look nice and smooth and flat , but when I get close or on an angle , they are all uneven and lumpy and bumpy .

These units are running at about 650K .

I've had a look now at a number of the new infills , and Row-houses that have gone up in my area ,( my area was re-zoned a couple years back and now there is a ton of new buildings going up ) and some look ok , but I'm just dumb-founded at how bad a lot of them are .

Then today , I Google mapped a place that is a potential jobsite , and even in the picture of the house , I can see how bad the stucco work is .

I would flat out refuse to accept that type of quality if I was paying for it .


So , here's the question ....

Is the difference between good and bad simply poor quality workmanship.

Lack of experince ... who gives a poop attitudes etc ....is it a case of $$$

Could the same guys just as easily do a much better job if the builder was willing to pay more ?

What I'm asking is ...is doing stucco basically straightforward , and one can easily do ...a good, better ,best job simply based on $$$

A better job takes more time and time costs $$$

Or is it a job that really requires a well-experienced craftsman?


Thanks

Bob

[Trochu]

Not stucco, and not to derail your thread, but if you look, and know what your looking at, there is a huge difference between quality brickwork and guys just reaching into the box and making whichever brick they pull out fit, even if its upsidedown. The problem is, most people don't care if there is an 1.5" of mortar or 1/2" of mortar between the bricks. They look at it from the sidewalk and it looks "reasonable". I'd suspect stucco is judged by the same standard.

[Moo Snukkle]

What’s the finish? Drag or acrylic?

[KGB]

I was told - if you want a good stucco work - hire an Italian!

[Gramps.257]

Residential Stucco is a very hit or miss trade..mostly miss. From the builders going with the cheapest company's that they scrape off the bottom of the barrel to unskilled so called tradesmen its a "looks good in the rear view window" mentality. Being that its a seasonal occupation for most in residential any plasterer's that are good move into the commercial or industrial side of the trade where wages are good. After being in the trade 35 years i would be hard pressed to offer anyone more than 3 recommendations for contractors if they were looking to get a quote for residential here in Edmonton.
Quality plastering is really an artisan trade and a well done job shows. 31 years ago plastering lost its trade certification here in Alberta and its been an unregulated trade ever since and a race to the bottom as far as quality goes. I have had to fix many friends new homes that the contractors were gone with the wind as soon as they were paid and never returned phone calls as well as the General Contractors going belly up.
I stuccoed our house last year with full system, 4 inch, type 1 styrofoam acrylic and have had alot of neighbors ask if i would do their as well but mine was my final job before hanging up my tools and i figured it was time to put all the trick of the trade to use on my own project as a treat to my wife after putting up with siding all these years.

[Gramps.257]

Originally Posted by KGB

I was told - if you want a good stucco work - hire an Italian!

lol see my post above.

[Gramps.257]

Truth is if you want a good job here in Alberta hire a ticketed master plaster.

[Gramps.257]

The weekend we put the finish on my place there were 5 of us with a combined total of 158 years experience and we had a good laugh that you would need 5 good sized house crews to come up with the same experience if not more.

[KGB]

What is the approx cost of doing the job like that? Let’s say, two storey house, 2000sq.ft. Square box plus attached garage?
Asking for a friend, lol!

[Gramps.257]

Originally Posted by KGB

What is the approx cost of doing the job like that? Let’s say, two storey house, 2000sq.ft. Square box plus attached garage?
Asking for a friend, lol!

My house was stripped of siding any any sub-straight problems repaired.New flashing at all doors and windows and parging line and an approved peal and stick membrane with primer. Then a 2 coat water proof trowel on membrane was applied from roofline to below grade and allowed to cure 7 days. A polymer based adhesive is used to chemically fasten 4" Type 1 virgin bead board using a 5/8 notched trowel. Again i let everything cure 7 days and applied all styrofoam trims around doors and windows. 2 coats of a polymer base coat embedding a fiberglass mesh and another 7 day cure between coats and then a lite mist with water everyday during that cure before finally applying Acrylic finish to parge line. The parging was done with Cultured stone. Materials for my house ran about 17K but my supplier kicked me a few great deals, and labor was free minus beer and BBQ. I would guess a job like this would run in the 50K range easy but it could be scaled back to save money.
For a house like yours for a basic Imasco texture cement finish( what you see on most houses) budget in around 5K for paper,wire and flashing trims and prep and then 10-13k for the stucco. Acrylic stucco starts at 50% more and goes up from there depending on the extra details. Problem with giving you a number is that are many variables and prices can range from 5/sqft for basic Imasco to 100+ sq/ft for crushed marble plaster finishes. If you give me more info i could help you get a better ball park of what your looking for cost.

[KGB]

Thanks Gramps, it does give me an idea. We are debating to stay at this house or to sell it - due to the stupidly increased noise from Henday... used to sleep with an opened windows before, but in the past few years the noise became unbearable. It’s just finding the new place for us is a challenge...