Jobs in progress
updated August 24,
2015
Over 16 years
of jobs in progress, update #140!
I started jobs in progress in January, 1999, when I
registered my domain. If you want to find out about plaster and
exterior cement
plaster, also known as stucco, you are in the right place.
Thanks for reading. Keep checking back.
Please read my notes
SEARCH:
Plaster walls and
ceilings- Knock on the wall quality ! | White coat is troweled so slick you can see the reflection of the window. We're plastering this historic house in Rockville, Maryland. |
Veneer plaster starts off with blue
board. No, this isn't blue mold resistant sheet rock or green water resistant sheet rock. More details here.. |
They make a self stick fiberglass
tape for this but I quit using it because I am afraid of joint cracking. I worked for companies years ago that only used the staple on kind of tape. The self stick tape doesn't allow mortar to get behind the tape for reinforcement. Here I am using paper tape and durabond 90. More details here: |
Veneer plaster basecoat is incredibly
hard for as thin as it is. First we scratch in the
joints and then coat the whole wall. More about this project: |
The door jambs are set first before the
board is hung. This allows the plaster to finish flush to the jamb so the trim lays flat. Also the doors have a nice solid thunk when they are closed like a heavy door on an old car. Click for More: |
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Taking down the scaffold. We took over
the job from a contractor that was kicked off. More here... |
The arches and details are formed and
filled with solid mortar. The original house has foam. I just can't force myself to work with flimsy foam. More here... |
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This brown coat looked like a bunch of
kids did it, no offense to kids. This is my competition for you. See how we straightened it out... |
The sills are formed and filled the same
way will solid cement mortar. Foam has been proven to absorb and trap water under windows. More.. |
![]() This nearly 100 year old house has the stucco replaced on two sides. |
![]() Deteriorated metal lath is the culprit of the stucco failing. They didn't have galvanizwed lath back then. The bottom trim board was still in fairly good shape, even though it was never flashed. We put on new flashing. |
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A splatter suit is made using plastic and tape. I hope that this stucco will last a lot longer than the original. |
Another view of our
stucco band at Madewell, next door to our band we
did at Lululemon. EIFS and synthetic finish isn't supposed to be allowed here in the Mosaic District. |
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Metal lath and molding plaster and lime allows for same day completion at least most of the time. |
The original ceiling was rock lath and had
black mold growing. Black mold won't grow on metal lath
or plaster. |