What is the difference between stucco and parging ?
Stucco or parging
Parging is cement mortar applied to block or brick just to cover the masonry and really doesn't matter what it looks like.
Stucco is cement mortar applied to block or brick or other surfaces as a decorative finish that matters what it looks like.
Sometimes parging is put on blocks and painted, like on this house in Dale City, Virginia. The block joints usually show through, and the mortar is sort of evened out with a brush.
If parging has been painted, the paint must be chipped up or removed before stucco application, like on the back of this town house in Springfield, Virginia.
Unpainted parging can be scored and stucco applied using a bonding admixture. Most of the time, parging is pretty soft because it has a lot of sand in the mix, usually 3:1 or greater. Remember, sand is a lot cheaper than cement.
Please check out some of our jobs where we have stuccoed over parging:
http://www.rtbullard.com/stucco/progress/progress20.htmhttp://www.rtbullard.com/stucco/progress/mitchell03.htm
http://www.rtbullard.com/stucco/progress/progress104.htm
http://www.rtbullard.com/stucco/progress/adrienne02.htm