Stucco News
Question and answers on Stucco and Plastering-- August, 2012
I am president of our condo association
and am in charge of finding out how to repair our buildings
which were coated over 17 years ago with what looks like a
mixture of stucco and sea shells (some people have told me
it is called coquina??? spelling?) It is discolored
and has cracked in many places. I have researched as
much as I can but am not sure what it the best method to
repair it. I have found many sites which recommend
using elastameric paint but then other say don't because it
traps the moisture and causes more problems in the
future. We had a stucco contractor come in and tell us
to use "Brown Coat" which he says is just an old
conventional cement based stucco product. He said he
would use EFIS for this job - didn't say why. We
have 18 buildings which are about 60 stucco and 40 cedar
siding. We have been replacing rotten wood on the
siding and are going to repaint that but we don't know what
to do about the stucco. Any recommendations
would surely be appreciated.
Coquina stucco is an old form of stucco where sea shells were
used both for the lime
and for the aggregate. The shells were heated and crushed to
make lime, and the broken
pieces were used for the aggregate, as well as sand.
It would be sad to cover up the old sea shell stucco because
it is different and may have some historic value. Shells were
used years ago for lime,particularly a long way from the
limestone quarry. If the stucco has never been painted it can
be resurfaced with a new finish coat by adding no less than
25%(we use 50%) Acryl 60 or flex-con or similar chemical
additive. This should be done by an experienced plastering
contractor. I think you are right about the elastomeric
paint-it does trap water in the wall. 5 years ago it was
advertised as waterproof. Now that waterproof is out and
breathable is in, it is advertised as breathable. I think it
is the same thing. Don't put EIFS on there. You'll regret it
forever.Particularly after the next hurricane hits Florida.