STUCCO NEWS.NET

Pink stucco was done years ago by using red sand found in creeks. The sand was shoveled out and washed in barrels. I worked with an old plasterer years ago in Richmond who started out as an apprentice washing red sand for an historic addition in North Carolina. The sand was mixed with lime and white cement on the mortar board and applied as a finish coat.

After years of fading and streaking, this pink stucco develops quite a patina. I have seen pink stucco in South Carolina and North Carolina in old neighborhoods, but not in Virginia. Virginia probably didn't have many creeks with red sand.

I found out about the Oatlands, an historic mansion with pink stucco built in the 1800's.

The Oatlands in Virginia. The original pink stucco from the 1840's was painted over.

I found and area where the paint had peeled off due to a leaky downspout. The original stucco was brown from discoloration, so I guess I'll never know what the original pink stucco looked like. Interestingly, the old stucco was scored to look like limestone block, which was popular in the early 1800's.

You may have seen where we scored old stucco to match historic appearance here and here.