Table of

Contents

Swami Stucco

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Archives of Mystic Secrets handed down from the ages:

Date mystic secrets
October 2024

Drip Edges

Stucco showers in Puerto Rico

Dash on texture

mo' questions

September 2024

Stucco buckets

More about Spanish tile roofs

Silly Specifications

Sills rotted due to no weeps.

July 2024

More bad window installation

More about coping

Gutter helmet

Drip edges

June 2024

Bad window installation

Patio walls

English stucco.

More bad window installation

May 2024

EIFS bands destroy chimneys

Protruding foundations leak

Tudor stucco: Flashing tudor trim.

Removing Ivy from stucco

April 2024

Dead Valleys

Taping cracks in plaster

Level patios and roofs

Stair step cracks in stucco

March 2024

Who could do work like this ?

Stucco under grade

International question

Crumbly stucco

January 2024

Addendums-January-2024

More interesting stucco buildings

Stucco bulge

Another stucco bulge

Stucco on old bricks

December 2023

Chapter 15: Identifying age of plaster

Interesting stucco buildings

Stucco bubble

Coquina stucco

Accolades

October 2023

Chapter 14: Stucco art

Interesting stucco buildings

Re coat failing

Buying an EIFS house

Pebble Dash

September 2023

Chapter 13: Pay per lead services

Caulk around doors causes failure

Finding plaster

Maintenance

Oozing chimney

August 2023

Chapter 12: Chimneys

Permit required for historic stucco in Washington, DC

Fixing leaky windows.

One coat finish with weld crete

Stucco on stone

July 2023

Chapter 11: Flashing for stucco

Durock disaster

Adding color to stucco finishes.

Stucco over painted stucco or parging

Worst source of cracks

June 2023

Chapter 10: Glossary of plastering terms

Flashing stucco

Black mold doesn't grow on plaster

Covering the wall with plastic

May 2023

Chapter 9: Decorative details, from a 24 year old website

ICF

Split face blocks

More Questions

April 2023

Chapter 8: Planning a stucco (or plaster) job

Durock

Asbestos

DIY success

March 2023

Chapter 7: Bonding plaster and cement mortar

Chimney shoulders

Sloppy durock

kick out flashing

February 2023

Chapter 6: Plaster:about interior plaster

Is Formstone in Baltimore historic ?

Green White Portland

More bad work

January 2023

Chapter 5: Mortar and sand for plaster and stucco

Pink stucco

Lath on lath

window dilemma

November 2022

Chapter 4: Lath

Extreme cracking in new stucco

Painting stucco, damp curing

Question from an owner builder

July 2022

Chapter 3: Evil EIFS

Wood lath for plaster

Stucco bonding coat

Stucco texture repairs in California

May 2021

Chapter 1&2: Stucco and the Blind Man

LEAVE A GAP AROUND THE WINDOW ?

DASH ON FINISHES

PROTECT FROM STAINING

February 2021

REAL stucco and REAL plaster in Austin, Texas

CUTTING OFF STUCCO ABOVE THE GRADE

Another termite trap

Natural cement finish

September 2020

Ornamental plaster by American College for the Building Arts

Stucco humps

Mouthing nails

Evil EIFS

August 2020

Historic plaster at the Graffiti house.

Backwards sills and lack of flashing.

Don't fill the drip gap.

Vertical cracks every 2 feet

More crumbly mortar

June 2020

CEMENT PLASTER MAP OF JAMAICA

Tivoli Theater

Dead crumbly mortar

HELP in Pennsylvania !

December 2019

Product Reviews

NO Maximum thickness for stucco

Lath and stucco with no sheathing

Dry out the house before stucco ?

August 2019

Unpainted pebble dash stucco in Washington, DC

Weak mudsill causes stucco to fail

Finish coat pops off

Don't use EIFS mesh on stucco

June 2019

Historic pebble dash stucco house corrupted with siding in Washington, DC

Masonite fake stucco issues

Re stucco cracked stucco on block

Igloo effect on EIFS

March 2019

Ornamental plaster in the Washington Post

No permits needed for stucco

Painted block on parapet wall

Another termite trap

December 2018

Bad stucco slide show

Mixing finish plaster

Don't use 3/8 rib lath for stucco

Framing below grade is a termite trap

September 2018

Flannery Plaster and stucco trim

80 year old house leaking from patio

Stucco over cedar siding

This is EIFS

June 2018

Review on Rainscreen

Even MORE backwards window sills

Scoring plaster to look like ceramic tile

Sloppy stucco in New Mexico

Stucco repair in Tucson

April 2018

THE NEW STUCCO-POLYPSE IS COMING !

More backwards window sills

Help from Canada

Sprinklers hit the stucco everyday

Building Codes for stucco

August 2017

Window and parapet wall details.

Permastone and simulated stone stucco

Insulated concrete forms

May 2017

Expo stucco goes out of business.

Adding color to stucco finish

WILL PLASTER BOND TO A CEMENT BASECOAT ?

FAUX JOINTS FOR FAUX STONES

February 2017

Stucco and simulated stone on old brick.

Removing formstone

Backer rod rots windows

Is falling plaster unhealthy ?

November 2016

House wrap and tar paper

Drawing an ellipse

Mounting pre cast trim

Flashing a bay window

September 2016

lame specifications

USING A RICH SCRATCH COAT AND A POOR BROWN COAT

Splay angles

screwing lath to drywall suspension grid

Expanding on expansion joints

June 2016

Synthetic stucco finish isn't green

Does water wick up ?

Water stains in house due to crack in stucco ?

Confused in Charlotte

Parapet wall part 2

April 2016

Traditional three coat stucco-Number one material against air infiltration

To paint or not to paint ?

Stucco showers

Parapet wall

December 2015

Crummy coping causes catastrophe

Keene's cement-durable and scrubbable

More about leaking chimneys

Optimize the join between new stucco and old?

October 2015

Water funnels

Raised cracks

How to tell if flex-con (or acrylic) has been frozen

Hiding expansion joints

March 2015

Cold Weather stucco

Expanding on expansion joints

ASTM C 897 and ASTM C 926 sand for stucco

25 percent (or 20 percent ) more color

January 2015

What is lime plaster? What is lime stucco? What is lime ?

Why add lime to Portland cement

Fiberglass fibers for reinforcing stucco

Re-doing a bad stucco job without tearing it all off

November 2014

The raw truth about stucco in Reston Virginia

Wetting down blocks before stucco application ?

Slate chimney shoulders

Re-securing brick before stucco chipping and bonding

May 2014

Metal lath and mechanical keys for stucco and interior plaster

Does stucco cause cancer ?

Stucco fence

Stucco over parging

February 2014

HomeAdvisor is another ServiceMagic scam.

Making color samples for stucco

Caulk and paint will make it what it ain't

Tying in concrete steps and patio door.

July 2013

Metal corner beads

Plastic corner beads in Florida?

Cold joints in stucco

Cement stucco on adobe blocks

April 2013

Curved walls

Veneer plaster

Vertical lath not overlapped causing cracks every two feet

If the house leaks before the stucco, it leaks after the stucco

January 2013

Backwards flashing causes severe rot near Leesburg, Virginia

The truth about asbestos in plaster

What is the difference between stucco and parging ?

Painting stucco, will the rain mess up my new stucco ?

Magic trick for white splotches

August, 2012

Where are they now ? Interesting stucco buildings in the Washington, DC area revisited

Water funnels ?

Coping on townhouses ?

Coquina stucco ?

March 2012

How was permastone done ?

More about stains on stucco.

Stucco over spalling brick ?

January, 2012

Flashing rubber membrane roofs for stucco

What is the difference between type "s" and type "m" mortar?

Rubber membrane roof leaking ?

Inexperienced plasterers ?

September, 2011

What is "finestone" ?

Do I put on the roof first, or the stucco ?

How to tear off EIFS

August, 2011

Bird Iinfestation in EIFS

Vertical expansion joints can cause water funnels

Brown coat crumbling-mortar way too thin

Stucco bonds fine to split face brick or block

Z furring for lath on foam insulation

July, 2011

More flashing over windows

Strange stucco buildings

Furring metal lath ?

Acrylics in finish coat?

Rust stains on stucco ?

May 2011

Chemical bonders

Stucco buckling due to deflection

How to fix a leak at roof

Drip edge on block wall

August 2010

Plasterers from Wales at Folk Life Festival

Scratch coat has holes?

Color stucco in Florida

Stucco down to grade, above grade, or below grade ?.

What is a "Suction Bond"?

June 2010

Concrete Connexion wins best concrete fireplace

Straightening the wall using screeds

Flashing over windows

Stucco on bricks

How to keep block joints from showing through.

April 2010

Synthetic finishes are highly toxic

Durock system

Re-coating painted stucco (and unpainted).

Leaking dormers and chimneys (counter flashing)

February 2007

Stucc on Steel rebuilds Sri Lanka

Putting metal lath on a ceiling

Re-coating chimney caps

"control joint" or expansion joint"?

Cracks in brown coat.

August 2006

Great stucco at King's dominion (in Virginia).

Stucco over painted block or brick

Color coat peeling off (lack of bond)

Walking on Spanish tile roofs

August 2005

What happened to the window sill ???

How do I stucco over cast concrete fake brick ?

Attaching metal lath over concrete and foam insulation.

Water runs downhill (where is the leak?)

February 2005

Point 13 of my 13 point list of methods for reducing cracking in portland cement stucco.

Slate roof, what to do?

Attaching a ledger board

Diamond mesh lath upside down?

September 2004

Point twelve in my nine point list for crack prevention

Straightening the wall using dots and screeds.

Bonding stucco to concrete using portland cement paste.

Bonding stucco using acrylics.

May 2004

Point eleven in my nine point list for crack prevention

New Orleans finish

Gaps around windows ?

Western One-Coat

Have camera-will travel

March 2004

Point ten in my nine point list for crack prevention

Crooked lines camoflage patches.

Cracks in squares

Three good questions:
1. How long can you let the scratch coat sit before covering with the brown coat?
2. rib lath on a soffit
3. techniques for stuccoing a radius wall?

December 2003

Harry's color plaster

Plant-ons by Dan

Point nine in my nine point list for crack prevention

Bonding agent failure

Should I put metal lath on block before applying stucco?

Its not traditional and its not stucco.

April 2003

Harry's stairway.

Point eight in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Can I do this myself ?

Stucco over cedar siding.

Consumer fraud: Is it stucco or fake?

January 2003

Todd sent pictures of his fireplaces.

Point seven in my twelve point list for crack prevention

How to kill the block joints.

Bonding stucco to concrete

Do foam details rot my house ?

November 2002

Cool fireplaces

Point six in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Cool fireplaces in New Mexico

More about control joints

Toll Brothers- consumer fraud

September 2002

Point five in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Sandblasting bumpy stucco

Accelerator for stucco moldings

All styrofoam isn't garbage.

August 2002

Point four in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Plantons made by Dan

Elastomeric crack filler

Old method of bonding plaster to old walls

Covering over textured finishes

One coat "stucco" is EIFS

June 2002

Point three in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Reggie's retaining walls

Specifications for stucco

About one coat "stucco"

May 2002

Point two in my twelve point list for crack prevention

Flashing roofs.

Bonding agent failure

Synthetic "stucco" EIFS garbage

April 2002

Point one in my twelve point list for crack prevention

wives' tales

Lath over foam

Estimating windows

Don't get suckered into synthetic stucco

Cleaning stucco

March 2002

Pictures of stucco in the Washington area

Removing frozen stucco (mortar)

How much of a gap do I leave at the bottom?

How long to let stucco cure before painting

February 2002

More tribute to Don Miles

Cleaning stucco

Cracks in stucco

Whitewash

January 2002

Tribute to Don Miles

Milestone workshop in Seattle

Stains on stucco on a new house

Major cracking in stucco

Is it stucco or fake?

November 2001

Stucco wrap test (tarpaper wins)

Weld crete fails-bonding agent failure on painted surfaces

Stucco on old blocks

One coat "stucco"

October 2001

Patch and match

More about tyvek

Bag finishes

Stucco floors

September 2001

Ornamental plaster by Harry Davenport

Tyvek causes cracks; Whitewash

EIFS gets hot

Masonite-more fake stucco

August 2001

Stucco chimneys-including flashing, caps, etc.

Expansion joints

Re-color coat or paint

EIFS house rots, owners lose everything

July 2001

Decorative bands (without foam)

Leaking dormer

Fog coat (cement paint for stucco)

OSB shrinkage causing cracks

My Book - Stucco and the blind man - Table of contents

Chapters one and two

Introduction; About windows and doors

Chapter three

Evil EIFS

Chapter four

All about lath for plaster and stucco

Chapter five

Mortar and sand

Chapter six

About interior plaster

Chapter seven

Bonding plaster and cement mortar

Chapter eight

Planning a stucco or plaster project

Chapter nine

Decorative features from a 24 year old website

Chapter ten

Glossary of plastering terms

Chapter eleven

About flashing for stucco

Chapter twelve

Chimneys

Chapter thirteen

Pay per leads.

Chapter fourteen

Stucco art

Chapter fifteen

History of materials

Addendums

January, 2024

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Thanks for reading all these years.