Help with exterior stucco technique

[bruceg61]

Thanks to the help in this group, I was able to complete my cement block courtyard wall. Now comes the tricky part. I want to match the stucco pattern of my home's exterior, but can't figure out the finishing technique. Does anyone know the technique to get the following stucco finish (refer to pics below)?

I want to apply a base coat then a colored finished. I plan on using a

4x4 sheet of concrete board to practice on before trying the real thing. Any help at this point would be appreciated since there is no covering up mistakes at this point:)

?image=1000423kf9.jpg

[Big_Jake]

?image=1000423kf9.jpg You have to live with the results. Call a pro and write a check.

JK

[benick]

?image=1000423kf9.jpg>

I agree...It's not really something you can explain and if you mess it up you can't sand it off and start over..... Call a pro....

>

[gfretwell]

That is what they call "skip trowel". Basically you throw on a little blob and mash it flat. It really looks easy to do, but like most stucco finishes, actually doing it is a trick. You can probaby do the scratch coat and brown coat yourself but I would pay a guy for the finish coat. It will be one trip for him that way so the price shouldn't be that bad. A lot of guys are out of work these days.

[Tim Pikaart]

?image=1000423kf9.jpg Contrary to what everyone else seems to be saying, it's not that hard. Use your trowel, put some mud on selectively (sticking it on w/ the bottom of the trowel flush w/ the surface of the wall works well-- this makes lots of little peaks), then trowel it flat. Experiment w/ how much you throw on, how much you smooth it out, etc. It can't hurt to experiment!

[Tim Pikaart]

?image=1000423kf9.jpg Contrary to what everyone else seems to be saying, it's not that hard. Use your trowel, put some mud on selectively (sticking it on w/ the bottom of the trowel flush w/ the surface of the wall works well-- this makes lots of little peaks), then trowel it flat. Experiment w/ how much you throw on, how much you smooth it out, etc. It can't hurt to experiment!

[RicodJour]

As others have mentioned, that texture is referred to as skip troweling - least ways where I'm from. The first picture shows a nice example of the texture. The second picture indicates that the house as a whole is a lot more haphazard in texture. Looks to me like more than a couple of people have worked on the house over the years. Some stucco companies like to have several guys applying finish to speed up the process, but unless the guys have worked together for a long time their skip trowel end results will all look different. Patches can be very difficult to match. You house's texture gives you a lot of leeway when doing the wall - you don't have to match a particular design/texture exactly, just approximate it. Work up your sample panel - that will tell you what you need to know. Scrape off the early attempts on the sample panel (or wall) before they dry so you can take another shot at it.

R

[bruceg61]

Somestuccocompanies like to have several guys applying finish to speed up

Thanks for the advise everyone. It is a 30 year old track house. I'm sure the whole house was stucco'd in a day by a team of people who were a little more focused on speed than consistency. I agree that to apply a stucco finish is a learned skilled and I've seen great examples of stucco finishes obviously applied by skilled crafstmen... my house is NOT one such example! I'll try a couple of sample panels and see how close I can come. This is a different structure (courtyard wall) so I think I have some lattitude. A patch would be more difficult. Thanks again everyone!