Stucco replaced Cathedral Heights area Washington, DC


Old stucco is torn off with electric chipping hammers. This probably isn't as interesting as the additions we do, but I like re-stuccos.	The original wall was furred out with these skinny furring strips, one the the reasons for the wall failing in the past. The idea of the furring was to hold the lath away from the wall allowing more mortar to squish or "key" behind the lath for strength. This method backfired. The strips really weren't strong enough to support the stucco, and the mortar doesn't key behind the strips. For more about furring lath

Scaffold cam shows badly deteriorated mortar between bricks. We scraped off what we could to allow new mortar to be squished in.	Most of the stucco was left on the chimney from the fear of knocking the whole thing down. The method used here was chipping off the old paint. Scratch coat applied with plenty of flex-con, a bonding admixture, in the mortar.

A good use for styrofoam is protecting this slate roof from falling debris. The scaffold is set up around chimney so no weight is placed on the slates. Slate should never be walked on because it breaks easily	Band at top and band get a float finish (fairly smooth) and the rest gets the bag finish(rough) for a great contrast. I hope the band and my artistic block don't get painted. See how I made the block here