trowel stucco to look like poured concrete
Howdy guys and gals, in this video I explain how to make the stucco appear like a poured concrete wall. A two coat scratch and brown will often hairline, if you wish a smoother steel trowel finish it must have the third coat and typically we use a Santa Barbara finish to give it a smoother finish coat.
Please also see our web site at http://www.StuccoPlastering.com
Kirk Giordano Plastering Inc.
trowel stucco to look like poured concrete
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Thanks for watching and have a great day!
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trowel stucco to look like poured concrete
I hear you Dragon, mainly I just do this work without thinking about it.
I did get a bit carried away on some of the details on this one.
I was trying to answer a question and do something different at the same time.
Shame on me.
Have a groovy evening!
Kirk Giordano Plastering
I am doing a fireplace (has recessed area for tv) , floor to ceiling 10'. My layers are cement board, alum corner beads, bonding adhesive, fiberglass Stucco mesh with additional bonder to help stick, scratch coat. For the brown coat I should put it on than use a smooth darby followed by a hard rubber trowel for the texture of the finish coat to grab? My finish coat will be colored. Recommend any finish coat in particular? Going for a very contemporary look. Smooth/stamped originally intended.
No worries brother, if it weren’t for spell check, nobody would be able to understand one sentence of the things I write in response.
Have a groovy evening,
Kirk Giordano plastering
Thank you sop much for the response! I absolutely want it true and plum. Was going to go with a 48" darby. Should I get one with one side serrated OR both sides smooth followed by the hard rubber float for the Santa Barbara Smooth Misson finish?
Darby only gets used for the brown coat, correct, and use the hard rubber float to rough the surface after using the darby?
What are the magnesium darbys for?
Does the hard rubber float do the job of the serrations is where I'm most confused.
I have about a 5×10 area on the front of my home that I want to stucco. The house is 50 years old and has abesto's tile. It's in great shape except for the wood area I want to cover. After watching your videos for over a week, I finally feel confident to attempt the job! Who knows if I can do a good job, I might remove the tiles ( disposing of them properly) and stucco the rest of the house! Thank you Kirk, for making the videos! Feeling confident, Corinne
Hi Corinne J Rodriguez, thank you, you’re welcome, glad to be of service.
Some of what we do is common sense, but allot is practice,
Best wishes with your project and have groovy day!
Kirk Giordano plastering
Howdy nick, first of all thank you for the kind words.
I have a video for you that will answer your question copy and paste this title in on our channel search bar.
SEE COMPLETE 3 coat stucco system from wood sheathing to finished color coat!
Best wishes and have a great day!
Kirk Giordano plastering
Hi, Kirk. Great vids. I'm trying to knock down a "slapdash" stucco job by using a 50-grit pad on a tape and bed sanding extension. It's a 35-year-old surface and quite stable. Trouble is, it's ugly as hell. I'd like to skim-coat it if I won't be able to sand it smooth enough. (At this point this will probably be the case). Any suggestions. I live in New Mexico, so an adobe finish wouldn't be out of the question.
use diamond grinding wheel.
Hi charles behlen, it's extremely tough to sand down stucco if not impossible, the sand paper will shred, if it were me I would re-skim it.
Thanks for watching and have good day!
Kirk Giordano plastering
Hey Kurt I really appreciate all your knowledge you have to share were I live we
use to stratch and brown the houses with a smooth finish we would water trowel the brown coat till it was smooth we got some cracks but nothing major then the painters would come with an elastomeric painter seemed to work just fine for us?
Evening genis696, that's the way it's done here also, sometimes we do have to caulk the cracks first if they are too large to flood with paint.
Cheers!
kirk and family
Is this Jim Carrey presenting the stucco ?
Howdy Anton Neumark, not certain if that's sarcasm or not, but just in case,
I wish,
cheers!
kirk and family
HI Ramil Bikmuhametov, cool response.
Have a great day!
kirk and family
Coming from the Rock aka, Ramil Bikmuhametov, quite the compliment,
thank you brother.
best wishes,
kirk and family
Mr. Giordano how come you didn't wet the wall I always wet it that way it take me longer to DRY thanks Mr. Giordano and Jason
Hi Gil Velazquez, I didn't wet the walls as this is such a small patch plus I didn't want to wait for the top coat to dry as we would have had to stop the camera, then when ready, start the camera back up, I wanted to make the upload as easy as possible for my son jason, who films and post these plastering tips,
best wishes,
Kirk giordano
You mentioned cracking…… Since its a cement based mixture do you think it cracks because it isn't cured properly? When we pour concrete we cure it for 7 days. Shouldn't stucco be the same?
Howdy Charles Jewett, good question, stucco tend to crack more if it steel troweled as this seals the surface.
Cheers,
kirk giordano
Kirk, If i was to make a water fall would you use a mortar or just portland and sand? I also need strength. Love your videos…
Hi Clay Sherer, if it were me I'd use portland common cement plaster, plus heavy sand or what some yards call clean coarse washed.
I have done waterfalls before and fish ponds too and even mountains with this mix.
Cheers,
kirk giordano
Hey Kirk, did you not have to clean the surface first? I figured there would be dust!
Btw thanks for all your videos, I'm pretty sure I've seen all of them!
Howdy Zach Rubalcaba, good question, this was scratched recently and did not have enough time to gather dust,
Cheers,
kirk giordano plastering
But what do you do to make sure the wall doesnt remain rimose/trachy once it has dried? Do you use sandpaper or what?
Morning MS, cement plaster or stucco is basically portland cement with sand added, a fella can only trowel down sand so much, the more you trowel down with force the less grains of sand will remain on the surface.
Sandpaper will work on wood but not concrete or stucco.,
Best wishes,
Kirk giordano Plastering
you maybe able to smooth out existing stucco with a 7" diamond grinding wheel on a large grinder. this would get you a pretty smooth polished finish. they have the grits from 80 to 300 or even 800
If one were to do three coats in an attempt avoid cracking, would the second coat be left smooth or would you go over the 2nd coat with a scratcher???? BTW, did the homeowner use metal lathe under is scratch coat?
Hi Michael, technically, you allow the base coat to cure, between 2 to 3 weeks, then apply a third coat to avoid the hairlining.
But can this method hairline?
You bet.
I can and have applied 2 coats and gone over with a steel trowel which seals the stucco and not had any hairlining, but not to often as stucco and or concrete should be allowed to breath.
If you are painting and any stucco hairlines, big deal after the cure time a good primer will usually flood these cracks, or worst case scenario you have to caulk them.
Cheers,
kirk giordano rendering
Tnx! & Tnx for your great videos!
Hi Kirk, Thanks for sharing and taking the time to shoot these videos as I have found them extremely helpful. I took on a stucco job that I wasn't super comfortable doing but through watching your videos I feel confident with the outcome. I did have a question though as to you not using K88 (plasticizer Boston, Ma) in the mix as you deemed it not effective. I put it in my mix and I can tell its in there as I have used it before to drop stone treads on brick steps and such. I also put it on the scratch coat as you suggested. What are your thoughts if you could….also should I have SSD the wall and let K88 dry completely before applying second coat. My masonry distributer says it retards evaporation and rapid curing. Thanks for any advice, Rich….LaPorte Masonry
Hi Richard, I'm not familiar with this additive but have used Gibco only a few times it's also a Plasticizer, I prefer to simply purchase lehigh hanson premium cement plaster, sure it cost me a few more bucks per bag, but I save time in the long run.
This lehigh hanson premium cement plaster has common cement plaster for strength and the plasticizer for spreadability premixed in the bags, all I do is add sand and water.
keep in mind I'm an expert with my tools and can and have spread straight common many times.
I also used to use bags of lime which worked in my experienced opinion, lime is much better than either of the above mentioned additive, but that was over 25 years ago, today I can spread any material effortlessly.
Sorry, I can't give you any more information than this as I don't use these additives.
Cheers,
kirk giordano plastering
Thanks Kirk, I appreciate your response, all the best-Rich
If you use mortar made from lime and sand, will that also crack? I would expect it not to crack because of its flexibility.
Good Evening Pilot dude, I did a one hour video that explains the in's and outs of your question,
in short lime is not a binder cement plaster is, so the lime of today and sand won't set.
cheers,
kirk giordano plastering
Kirk, many thanks for your reply. I'll take a look at your 1hr video if I can find it. I am in France and the lime sold here is much more like cement than pure lime. They call it "hydraulic lime'.
Howdy dude from france, your right the lime there is a bit different than here in the U.S.
https://youtu.be/jI54QRx0_H0
Best wishes,
kirk giordano plastering
Hi Kirk,
The Architect called out "7/8" smooth trowel plaster finish-pdt on metal late and building paper". I inspected the building(8 years old police building) today, and all the exterior wall have many hair line cracked. It is normal? It is supposed to be cracked like that? Im scary it might fall down and hit people head. Who fault would this be? Please get back to me asap. If possible, i can send you a couple of pictures i took.
Secondly, how to fix it(getting rid of the hairline)?
Much appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Danny
Good Evening Danny, cracks are normal, some home much worse than others as there are too many causes to list here,
Now buckling or separating from a wall where there is no stucco netting but instead cedar wood lath, should be addressed by someone with knowledge in your area,
sorry but a picture won't help me help you.
Best wishes,,
FYI, all of us here at the giordano plastering channel wish to thank all our subscriber and those of you how accidentally stumble on our channel a happy and prosperous new year
kirk giordano plastering
Kirk is it ok to stucco over wood sitting
Howdy Fernando, no, you must first protect the wood with 2 layers of paper then attach wire to hold the stucco.
Best wishes,
Kirk & Jason’s stucco repair video’s
really appreciate all your videos also thanks for responding so quickly to my last question, do I have to scratch and brown on durarock
Good Evening Barron Dude, no worries, sometime I get the opportunity to respond quickly when not working so much.
Cheers,
kirk giordano plastering
Do you do work in Benicia?
Good Evening Tidbits,
sorry, I don't but my pal Ron Roberts Plastering does, as he lives close by you in Pleasant hill,
Cheers,
FYI, all of us here at the giordano plastering channel we wish to thank all our subscribers and those of you who accidentally stumble on our channel a happy and prosperous new year
kirk giordano plastering
Hey Kirk, great videos learn a lot ..
question for you: if I use this product : http://www.ctscement.com/mortar-mix/ Rapidset mortar mix… and use a foam float, a lot of aggregate comes to the surface, how can i get less rocks to show up? use a dry float?
Howdy John, allow it to almost dry then use a hard rubber float, or yes you can use a sponge float, less water and a light touch works well.
More water and a more forse bring out more aggregates or sand.
Cheers, live long and plaster
giordano’s stucco images and teaching videos
My wife thinks you're very handsome Kirk.
Howdy Sean, tell her thank you from me,
Cheers, live long and plaster
giordano’s stucco images and teaching videos
LOL @ "And my brother, Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
Great informative video as always 🙂
Howdy Haukur Dude, no worries, happy to be of help,
Live long and plaster
images for stucco/plastering and teaching video’s
I rarely get hairline cracks even to 3 inch layer when I use 50%portland and 50% masonry and 3 parts sand and it is absolutely a concrete finish!
Howdy Tony, I find it's not the cement plasters, but the lifting and settling of all homes due to rain lifting homes, 90 days of rain swell or lifts all homes when drier conditions occur the wall will settle thus, movement = hairlining, not always but often.
Live long and plaster
teaching repairing your number 1 investment, your home
Hey there, I like your works, but I was looking for something like those white houses in Greece, with their bumpy wall finish and whitewashed. How do you get those bumps or make one on a flat wall? Whats the material used and curing time?
and most of all, what it is called. Please help.
Thank You.
Howdy Abin Dude, no worries, try the video's below as they are but some of the ones we show how to do with our over 750 video's
Live long and plaster
teaching repairing your number 1 investment, your home bumpy finishes
https://youtu.be/rhGjF2WthVs
https://youtu.be/cMQHPUo0nL8
https://youtu.be/Boe24s3BGn8
Kirk, your videos have been a great help in our home remodel. More than anything they've educated me on stucco so I can come to my contractor with some knowledge. Question for you: Does a smooth finish always lead to cracking or is there a way to float it that prevents cracking (for the most part)? Also, we were using LaHabra stucco. Our contractor said that the Premium stucco is a better quality. In my research it seems as though they are just different colors, can you advise on that?
Thanks!
Shane
Good morning Shane dude all one can do is apply and hydrate properly, with anf finish or base coat, when it starts raining the home will lift then selly when drier conditions return, this movement cause hairlining of all cement and stucco walls.
As far as is La habra better than the rest, I don't think so, but I'm just an applicator not an engineer.
All seem very similar when applying.
Live long and plaster
Sharing the plastering knowledge
all stucco will hairline… thats why after the brown coat u wait a minimum of 8 days to let it cure and crack… then u can finish it with whatever texture,smooth color coat u desire…and it will cover up the imperfections
Howdy Shane dude, thank you, I too use a premium cement plaster as it has lime and common cement plaster in the bags, Cost a bit more but worth the extra few bucks.
When applying a smooth finish the most important thing is to properly hydrate both coats so that the wall can expand than constrict.
An application of a finish coat then has less of a chance to hairline when the rainy months come as the walls have already done their expanding.
Most hairline cracks are by mother nature, I have made a few video's on why stucco cracks going into great detail on home movement.
Live long and plaster
Mastering Plastering tips and techniques
Howdy fellas, we contractor wait about two to 3 weeks depending on weather for the basecoat to cure, then we apply the finish,
However, most stucco does indeed hairline as ground movement for stucco or concrte is like kryptonite to Superman, not good.
Live long and plaster
Mastering Plastering tips and techniques
Hey Kirk, great videos! I've watched almost all of your videos and one topic I would like you to go a little more in depth on is what colours are possible to achieve with basic cement based stucco. I'm currently building a house and my builder seems to be trying to get me to upgrade to Acrylic Stucco which is around $10,000 for my entire house exterior (2400 SQFT).
I feel as though they can achieve the colour I desire with the traditional cement based stucco. I'm looking for a Cement Coloured medium Gray colour, the reason I don't believe I need to upgrade to acrylic to achieve this colour is due to the fact that cement is already that Gray colour, and if stucco is cement based it wouldn't be hard to achieve that colour?
I was also told to do a Light Float or Heavy Float finish on traditional stucco will lead to a patchy look as water is needed and dilutes the finish.
Can you provide a little insight on this, I was perhaps thinking they could just not add any pigment? They are using an Imasco product.
Thank you in advance!
Howdy New dude, acrylics are better than cementitious finishes as they flex more and add water resistance, I apply more cementitious finishes myself.
I have many videos on acrylics, just type in how to apply a stucco acrylic finish.
Acrylic stucco does cost about 40% more than traditional finish coat stucco and much more time is needed for preparation, both if applied right should have no patchy looks.
Live long and plaster
how to repair your number 1 investment
hey kirk, im trying to achieve the poured concrete look but also need all the little holidays and stuff that come with a poured concrete wall..any pointers and how to achieve that?
Howdy Scott dude, I'd say apply steel trowel and do the best you can, if you haven't been plastering for many years, you will have some holidays.
If not hit it with water afterward and trowel down agin this time inteshally leaving missed spots.
Live long and plaster
Sharing plastering information
thank you
expanded diamond lath then a green float sponge ran softly vertical while the mud is plastic? Seems to me like the extra reinforcement of diamond lath would help prevent cracking and the green float sponge would open it up enough but leave you with the concrete look. Concrete is not marble smooth unless polished in my opinion, but I`m just a rookie that stands around home depot and pretends to work there to offer people bad advice. Fair warning.
Howdy Gantz, fair enough
Live long and plaster
Teaching do’s and don’t of plastering and stucco work
this is a great teacher
Atta boy Mike Dude, I like your style.
Live long and plaster
Teaching do’s and don’t of plastering and stucco work
Evening MIke thank you
Live long and plaster
Mastering Plastering for the beginner’s to experts
Always wet the scratch coat before applying the brown coat
Howdy Greg, thanks for the tip.
Live long and plaster
Mastering Plastering for the beginner’s to experts
The bond between scratch and brown coat is both a chemical bond and a suction bond and requires a damp scratch coat before applying the brown coat unless you are pumping the mud which would be a wetter mix. By the way, a proper trowel for applying mud (stucco) is a five by twelve plaster trowel, (not a pool trowel) a scratch trowel does a much better job at scoring first coat and it requires no modification (duct tape) and a neoprene float is preferred as it actually knocks of the high points and fills in the lows for a much flatter brown coat rather than just flowing over the highs and lows when using a sponge float but hey, what would I know about stucco or plaster?
Evening Greg, thanks for the tips, FYI, I taught all 5 of my kids to plaster when they were about 11 with a 12×5 trowel, when grown they progressed to a 16 up to 18X5.
The towel I use is at this link below, it's not what you think it is.
https://www.amazon.com/12-318-Curry-Swim-Pool-Trowel/dp/B0011MPQ46?SubscriptionId=AKIAIL34TLIHWWLJOBMQ&tag=stucco-20&linkCode=alb&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0011MPQ46
Live long and plaster
Mastering Plastering for the beginner’s to experts
As always very good tips thanks blessings to you and your family
Greetings Mr. hernandez, thank you
Peace, love, and happiness being plastered
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this guy is a legend
Evening Pete, my brother, I sho-nuff like your style.
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Kirk I have a random question for you! My friend has a stucco rangehood and we're thinking of painting it to look like concrete. Can I apply a thin skim coat of drywall mud directly over the stucco and then paint or would it end up cracking? If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them! Thanks for all your videos!
Evening Annette, you use taping mud, but it will look like sheetrock painted.
If you used a veneer basecoat, this has sand in it, so when painted, it will indeed look like stucco or concrete.
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Kirk I'm having problem with this one wall i have going
Evening Chalino, doest tell me much, brother.
Bringing peace, love, and harmony back to the world of plastering.
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If you don't wet the wall it could become blown or definitely crack, always wet the wall
Evening Robert, as a rule, I do mist all scratch coats, but as I was brought soup, "wet mud," it would have been too much moister.
I don't always say in the video's the reality of the mud I'm given, I just improvise.
Bringing peace, love, and harmony back to the world of plastering.
The complete plastering encyclopedia on video, by the plastering messengers of Youtube.
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so sad you don't act anymore
https://images.app.goo.gl/uk4f2qascRhCkGNP6
Evening Jay, I didn't think I'd have to go back to plastering to make a living.
Bringing peace, love, and harmony back to the world of plastering.
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Kirk you always have your favorite trowel it doesn’t matter what type of base and texture cool bud enjoy your vids
Wet, Wet, Wet …the WALL
Evening Chad, thanks for the tip.
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@Kirk Giordano plastering Inc. Peace and Love my brother…
You are right mate! Great information
Happy New Year Alec, thank you. Bringing peace, love, and harmony back to the world of plastering. The complete plastering encyclopedia on video, by the plastering messengers of Youtube with over 800 videos.
doing this smooth in the northeast using portland, the next day youll always see small hairline / spider cracks, and you'll have to put that last coat back on.
With the right portion of sand cement and lime it shouldn't unless it gets vibration.
Hi Kirk What is the third coat you were talking about? I want to make my existing rough stucco wall smooth, what are your recommendations? Thanks Van
i want to stucco my outdoor kitchen to match the smooth stucco on my house. But I am afraid it is going to crack. What should I do? Can acrylic stucco be trowel to look like smooth stucco?