You can save money by touching up stucco yourself.
You can touch-up your stucco yourself, sparing yourself the cost of expensive professionals. Small cracks are much easier to fix, so periodically inspect your stucco for cracks and repair them. You can also repair large cracks and holes, but this will take more time and effort. Don't try to fix your stucco when the weather is veryhumid, or the temperature is less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, because the patching material will not dry properly.
Instructions
Touching Up Small Cracks
1. Chip away the stucco under and around the crack with the hammer and chisel. You want to bevel the edges of the crack, so there is some intact stucco hanging over the empty area. Clear away any loose pieces of stucco with your putty knife and brush.
2. Spray water into the area you have just cleared. Squeeze stucco patching caulk into the crack until it overflows. Push the caulk into the crack with your putty knife, leaving a mound of caulk above the surface. Let the patching caulk dry for 15 minutes.
3. Press the overflowing caulk into the crack with your putty knife, if possible. Smooth the surface with your putty knife.
Touching Up Large Cracks and Holes
4. Remove all the damaged stucco with your hammer and chisel. If you push down on an area and it doesn't feel solid, then it is damaged and should be removed.
5. Prepare the under surface. If the stucco is laid on brick, score (scratch) the mortar. If the stucco is laid on concrete, chip out pieces of the concrete. If your stucco is laid on wood studs, tear away the paper underlay, replace it with new paper, then nail some wire mesh lath to the wood, covering the paper. The new stucco will adhere more effectively to rough surfaces such as these.
6. Apply a coat of stucco patching material to the wall with your trowel. Let the stucco stiffen, but not completely dry. (Refer to the manufacturer's instructions for exact times.) Score the stucco surface with a wire comb, or the edge of your trowel.
7. Spray a mist of water onto the patched area approximately every five hours for the next 24 hours. Do not soak the new stucco.
8. Apply a 3/8-inch thick layer of stucco over the first coat. Smooth the surface with the float. Spray a mist of water on the surface every morning and night for two days. Wait an additional five days for the second coat to cure.
9. Apply a final 1/4-inch thick layer of stucco patching material using a wire comb. If your stucco has a stippled surface, flick patching material onto the repaired area of the wall with a brush and smooth out some areas with your trowel.
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