STUCCO NEWS.NET

Dash on finishes

Hello- I’m a homeowner in the middle of a remodel and the stucco sub is driving me crazy. My house is a 1929 bungalow that I’m trying to keep looking like a 1929 bungalow. I’m trying to pin down the stucco texture, but the stucco guy and I just don’t seem to be speaking the same language. I’ve shown him some houses with various dashed finishes, but when he’s made samples, they seem flat and wimpy. I suspect that he doesn’t have the equipment to throw decent sized aggregate. I’ve asked my contractor if he has another stucco guy he can use, but none of his people have much experience with my type of project. I’m no expert with stucco (my knowledge comes primarily from reading web sites like yours), so I’m not sure where to go next. Can you offer any suggestions (Sadly, I don’t live in your area - I’m near San Francisco - otherwise I would have you folks look at the job)? Thanks for your time.

A cheap broom from the dollar store works best for this.

, It only cost a dollar. I can put the handle back on and use it for sweeping.

Ours on the left matches the old on the right. We are real good at dash on finishes.

These finishes aren't very hard, but require someone with plastering skills. A video would be better to explain, but I'll try to describe how this is done in simple terms. This is not for DIY, and someone who has never done this will always do work that looks like someone who has never done this. We do a lot of dash on finishes, so here goes.

The finish coat is put on in two steps, first a scratch coat, then the texture, or the dash on, like a Spanish texture, for example. The scratch coat needs to be put on neat, troweling out trowel marks, and filling in catfaces, or voids. We always use white portland, lime and sand.

The texture coat is dashed on with a cheap broom, or stiff brush, except for heavier dash on finish. The dash mortar is real soupy, A bucket with water is required to dip the broom in first so the mortar slides off easy. If the mortar is too globulated, dip the broom in water first.

Heavy dash on finish was done with an old floppy brush.