jobs in progress 06-09-2003

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Jobs in progress-updated June 9, 2003
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                                                    The Pebble-dash Kings still rock
                                                    (throw rocks, that is)
                                                    Chevy Chase, MD

Carlos throws the pebble mix. In England,
this is called "harling". We're still the
kings of pebble-dash in the Washington area. We did the whole first floor of this house. Pebble dash looks right at home in this old neighborhood.   I just saw where
one of our jobs won an award. Click here.
I'm the nameless stucco contractor in the
second paragraph.

                                                        Historic restoration
                                                        Georgetown area
                                                        Washington, DC

What beautiful stucco. Finish coat is
Real portland cement and real sand.
Color is Chablis from La Habra stucco.
The finish coat breathes and lasts,
unlike the fake stuff they use on shopping
centers and new houses.
We have developed a method
of reducing the cracks from very few
to none.

                                A Tudor style stucco addition
                                Arlington, VA

Brown coat on this tudor style addition in Arlington.
I don't have pictures of the finished addition
Please check the next update.

                                Veneer plaster (blueboard)
                                house remodel
                                off North Capitol Street
                                Washington, DC

Veneer basecoat from US Gypsum is troweled on.
There is a one coat method, but the 2 coat with the veneer basecoat is so much better. Dining room ceiling is white coated
with lime and gauging plaster and troweled
smooth. Veneer plaster is a durable and
attractive alternative to drywall, and
keeps the historic appearance of these old
houses.

Old arris (outside corner) is patched using a
wood strip, like 100 years ago. This makes
a nice sharp arris. Adam made a beveled wood strip just for this occasion. The mortar that squishes through forms
a "screed" or an edge to fill to.
Patch matches well. The wood made the
mortar yellow so you can see what I mean.

Adam says "plaster walls invite you to
reach out and touch them".
A great commercial for plaster.
He loves his new plaster walls.

Problem: Badly spalling brick. We have stuccoed
chimneys before with bad bricks. Painted chipped off, scratch and brown coat
cured for a week, applying finish coat.
We always coat the cap we we stucco a chimney.

Finish is White portland and sand with
stucco color "Aspen" from La Habra stucco.
I capped the shoulder of the chimney with
a piece of flagstone. A slight cove at the
bottom where the stucco meets the stone
leaves a nice decorative effect.
Stucco on a chimney with bad brick is
an economical alternative to tearing down
the chimney and rebuilding it with bricks.
Besides, bricks won't send my kid to school.

                        For more progress click here. Preventing water damage.

All for now. Too much to say, too little bandwidth.
The plastering keeps rolling along, like the caissons.
Please keep checking back. Believe or not, about 20,000 people visit this
page every month.

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progress page

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Carlos throws the pebble mix. In England, this is called "harling". We're still the kings of pebble-dash in the Washington area. We did the whole first floor of this house.	Pebble dash looks right at home in this old neighborhood. I just saw where one of our jobs won an award. Click here. I'm the nameless stucco contractor in the second paragraph.


Veneer basecoat from US Gypsum is troweled on. There is a one coat method, but the 2 coat with the veneer basecoat is so much better.	Dining room ceiling is white coated with lime and gauging plaster and troweled smooth. Veneer plaster is a durable and attractive alternative to drywall, and keeps the historic appearance of these old houses.

Old arris (outside corner) is patched using a wood strip, like 100 years ago. This makes a nice sharp arris. Adam made a beveled wood strip just for this occasion.	The mortar that squishes through forms a "screed" or an edge to fill to. Patch matches well. The wood made the mortar yellow so you can see what I mean.
	Adam says "plaster walls invite you to reach out and touch them". A great commercial for plaster. He loves his new plaster walls.


Problem: Badly spalling brick. We have stuccoed chimneys before with bad bricks.	Painted chipped off, scratch and brown coat cured for a week, applying finish coat. We always coat the cap we we stucco a chimney.
	Finish is White portland and sand with stucco color "Aspen" from La Habra stucco. I capped the shoulder of the chimney with a piece of flagstone. A slight cove at the bottom where the stucco meets the stone leaves a nice decorative effect. Stucco on a chimney with bad brick is an economical alternative to tearing down the chimney and rebuilding it with bricks. Besides, bricks won't send my kid to school.