Learning to do texture stucco

[Apropos]

Where can I learn how to apply texutred stucco? The kind which is common in FL and CA homes which is apparently created by smearing "blobs" of stucco finish.

I tried a little of this and it didn't work out at all like I would hope. The blobs all got smeared together and had very rough edges.

What I'd like to do is *SEE* what the blobs are supposed to look like. How big and how close together. To have some info on the consistency of the mix and what motion to do with the trowel. If I had *SOME* idea what this looked like I could figure out how it would work.

Any websites you know would be of help. The more pics the better.

[Steve B]

Contact a stucco guy in your area. Bribe him with a couple of pizzas and pops. I'm sure you could find one that would let you watch the men work.

You can see a lot by observing.

Steve

[Apropos]

Thanks for the idea. However for a small job like this I didn't want to get too involved in such things. I feel I could learn a LOT from a good website and a few pics.

If I can't find any good sites then perusing a library for books would be my second choice.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

There's a reason plastering is considered an art. It takes quite a while to get proficient at plastering and stucco is no different. I build an adobe wall last summer but farmed out the stucco. I'm happy I did. The guy let me watch and even gave the trowel, hawk, and darby to give it a go. Let me just say, it'll take a lot more than a few feet for me to get proficient and I'm pretty handy at most stuff. If the job is small enough, hire it out and watch learn while they do it. Cheers, cc

[dadiOH]

One doesn't smear "blobs", one wipes a trowel full of mortar rapidly across the surface...the blobs are a natural result of mortar sticking in some places, not in others, and all being flattened by the trowel. If your job is really small, you could just throw mortar at the area then flatten/smooth with a trowel.

[Oren]

I hired a stucco guy for our patio cover; three columns, ceiling and patches around the header. It was put on in three passes. The first being heavy (day one), a second to smooth out missed spots and even the first coat (day two). The third coat is when the texture began to blend in with the existing stucco on the house.

This approach helped prevent cracks, etc. The final coat included a "glue / fiber material" mixed into the stucco to give strength.

Do not try to do an all inclusive job in just one day.

Good luck,

Oren

[Apropos]

Noone has ANY information on this..?

[Harry K]

The best advice has already been given. Watch it being done. 5 minutes of that will teach you more than 5 hours of reading about it. It certainly did for me when I screwed up my first attempt at taping drywall. I hired a pro to straighten it out and saw my mistake with his first few swipes. I had done a lot of reading on 'how to' first. There are techniques in art that just cannot be described in writing. Yes, drywall, stucco and the like is 'art'.

Harry K