Before moving the enormous dirt pile from the back of the house to the front — and filling in the mote around the front porch — the basement concrete panels were covered with stucco.
Unlike typical building materials, stucco can be applied directly to the aerated concrete panels. No need for the multi-step process of covering the frame with roofing felt and wire mesh. Just grab your trowel and apply!
We need to choose the window wells right away.
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Very cool! It will be interesting to see how that fairs over the years. I wonder if there are any concerns about reflective cracking. I ask this because there is no isolation between the concrete blocks that want to move with temperature and the stucco. Interesting stuff for sure.
.-= Todd @ Home Construction & Improvement hopes you’ll read Lead Paint Renovator Certification =-.
Well, I hope not! Our last home (with standard stucco application) did have a bit of cracking. So I hope it fares at least as well.
The stucco guy, Bill (?), tested it out the application and said it adhered more readily to the panels than it does to mesh. That will save loads of time. On the other hand, he will likely have to use more “product” since the unevenness of the blocks will be filled with stucco. Of course, none of that has to do with possible cracking, but it’s interesting to watch.
Well I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product. Out here no one has stucco so I’m not at all familiar with it…..so my question really comes from a lack of knowledge with it. Keep showing us the details!
.-= Todd hopes you’ll read Lead Paint Renovator Certification =-.
Checked into that a bit today. The “concrete panels” are an aerated, fiber, mesh concrete. In other words, panels made from concrete with air and smooshy stuff mixed in. The panels themselves are not rigid, so they should allow for ample expansion and contraction with weather.
This is a great post and teaches people how to save a lot of time if they are applying stucco to concrete, do you have any updates on the project or new pictures?
Jeffrey, thanks for stopping by. I haven’t added the final images of the house (too busy moving in and settling!), but I do have most of the construction documented. Check out the construction progress. Love our new home!