Brick veneer over peeling stucco?

[doggeroo]

I am having a problem with soft stucco bulging and peeling off my house (Los Angeles) from soil level to 18 inches, where there is a planter. I had let sprinklers and fountain splash hit the house in the problem spots.

Well, I have redirected the sprinklers and would like to cover the area with brick veneer. "The man at the brick yard told me" (familiar, right?) that I could cover the stucco with Thinset and directly apply the thin bricks to it. Here's my problem... in some areas, I've completely peeled away the stucco, exposing cement, in other areas there is a very bumpy 1/4 inch high stucco layer which may or may not peel off later. I'm afraid to start applying the Thinset until I know if I'm doing the right thing here. Can you help me with some experience/advice?

Cindy

[Eric Tonks]

You will be bonding the brick veneers solidly to a loose layer of stucco that will eventually fall off due to the weight of the brick along with time.

[Art]

Are you talking about thin brick veneer or real bricks. Real bricks need a footer to sit on and need to be tied to the house.

[ameijers]

Not to mention, if you have soft stucco, you probably also have rotted wood behind it. To do this right, you have to remove the damaged stuff, back to solid material, and build back out, adding/patching any water seal and flashing as you go. A real hard part will be making a good water seal at transition between stucco and the faux brick. You don't want water to build up behind the new mortar bed the brick sits in. I'd be more inclined to strip wall to sheathing, and do it all over correctly. Costs more, but it will last longer.

aem sends...

[doggeroo]

Veneer, the brick slices are only about 1/4 inch thick, more like tile than brick.

[doggeroo]

After reading your replies, I think that I'll (1) attach a very coarse sanding bit to my drill, go over the remaining stucco to even it out and to expose any other areas which might be loose. (2) I'll notch out small sections in the remaining stucco areas so that the cement underneath is exposed (maybe even create a hole into the cement) every 4 inches or so. (3) I'll apply a chemical that increases bonding, then the Thinset and bricks. How does that sound? Maybe it'll work? Kinda, sorta?

Cindy

[Art]

If it were me I would check the Yellow pages for a mason who specializes in repairs. He probably has a the equipment to take off the bad material in a few hours.