Any stucco experts here?

[ivwshane]

I'm going to be removing and installing a window of a different size as well as installing two new windows. The only part of the project that concerns me is the stucco (mainly because I'll be remodeling on the 2nd story).

I'm looking to add trim to the outside like the pics below and I'm not sure how to do it (three layers? one?). Also for one of my windows I will need to redo a lot of the stucco since I will be replacing the existing 3'x5' window with a 4'x4'. Sounds easy enough, except for some reason the outer wall is only composed of the barrier, metal, lath, and stucco! Nothing else! no osb or anything. My other concern is making sure I get the flashing right (or what ever it is I need to do to make sure the window trim is properly sealed).


Worst case scenario is that I would have to hire someone to do it and I'd rather learn how to do it right and know its done right but if I have to hire someone what is a ball park figure for doing a stucco job for three windows (2'x4'@2 and one 4'x4')?

[Hoover]

While I don't claim to be an expert on this project, I did do a similar project years ago. First of all, be sure after you remove the windows remove all loose caulking or stucco. Install your windows after installing tar paper, around the opening. This is important step to weatherize your windows. Install a metal flashing aka drip edge above the windows.

Next you want to apply a metal piece of mesh, to your new area that needs to be stuccoed. Be sure that this new surface be dampened to accept the stucco product, as the cement wants to absorb as much water as possible.

Check with your local home center, to purchase the stuccoing agent. I know years back a ready mix stucco product was available. Hopefully it still exists.

You won't get a decent application trying to do it all at once. You should try for a 1/8" scratch coat to cover the entire area. Let it dry according to the manufacturer's instruction, and then apply another coat. The gradual build up of coats, may take some time but it will give you a better end result.

You might want to put the last coat on with a coarse bristled paint brush in a stippling technique to match what the surrounding area is. Take your time, and the results should come out fine. Good Luck with your project. You can do this!!

[dbarnett]

Once concern that I would have...

If you are going to change the size of a window and two more on the same wall, that could mess with the structural integrity of the wall. My father in law had an inspector disqualify a building permit until a structural engineer came out and figure the proper load bearing equivalents for the number of windows that he was adding. There were quite a few windows. They had to reframe the wall and add some pretty beefy timbers to pass inspection.

As far as the bump outs around the windows, our contractor used a combination of wire mesh and styrofoam to get the 3D look around the windows as can be seen in the link below. Check around the garage doors and around the front door.

[ivwshane]

The new windows I will be adding are on a different wall and should be small enough that it shouldn't mess with the structures integrity (I'll know for sure once the building inspector gets back to me).

Styrofoam? You wouldn't happen to know what kind of foam it was do you (homedepot carries some)? I was originally planning to use some 2x4s (possibly pt).

First of all, be sure after you remove the windows remove all loose caulking or stucco. Install your windows after installing tar paper, around the opening. This is important step to weatherize your windows. Install a metal flashing aka drip edge above the windows.

Does the paper wrap all the way around the opening (as in outside to the inside)? Also, would the flashing go above the window or above the trim I want to add? What about the sides?


Thanks for the replies. While researching this I kept coming up with a ton of stucco horror stories

[mrojec]

The border around your windows looks remarkably similar to mine (sorry, no picture). Our exterior walls were done as follows:
--1" thick styrofoam applied to the sheathing with mastic, covered with fiberglass mesh and then secured with roofing nails. 2" thick styrofoam was applied around the windows in the desired width, also with overlying fiberglass mesh and roofing nails. The foam was your basic white stuff available at Home Depot.
--Mortar scratch coat applied over the fiberglass mesh.
--color acrylic (Parex, in our case) coat applied over the scratch coat.
I've tried to repair some dings in our stucco and the hardest part for me was getting a good texture match. Color can be matched exactly by stucco suppliers if you give them a sample.
Hope this helps.

[ivwshane]

Fiberglass mesh? whoa, when I think of fiberglass I think of hardners and epoxies, or is this something similar to mesh tape typically used in drywall?

[mrojec]

That's exaclty what it looked like, only a coarser weave and it came in rolls about 4' wide, if I remember correctly.
Mark

[ivwshane]

Hmm, I didn't see anything that wide at homedepot or lowes, maybe I wasn't looking the right areas.

Also the only foam I saw was at lowes and it was 1-2" thick and had a plastic film on both sides, is that the same stuff?

[LarryG]

What most of y'all are talking about here, and what appears to be on the house in the OP, is NOT traditional three-coat stucco. It's what is known generically as Exterior Insulation and Finish System, or EIFS (often pronounced "eefs" although some people, myself included, spell out the letters). "Dryvit" is one well-known trade name and many people call all EIFS systems that, regardless of manufacturer (i.e., like "Kleenex" or "Xerox").

The system consists of rigid foam insulation, applied in sheets to the structure with special large-headed fasteners, then a layer of reinforcing mesh, then a scratch coat, then a finish coat that is intended to resemble the texture of stucco. But that superficial finished resemblance is the only thing the two systems have in common.

EIFS originated in Europe, gosh must be 40 years ago, as a way to retrofit insulation to older buildings that were terribly energy-inefficient but otherwise too good to tear down. One of the attractions of EIFS is that it can be artfully shaped into all manner of designs easily, since all that is required is to cut and build up additional layers of foam as necessary. That is (I'm pretty sure) how the window surrounds pictured in the OP were done.

These two characteristics -- the ease of adding insulation, the detailing possibilities -- gained EIFS quick early acceptance as a sort of miracle material BUT as time went on there were a lot of problems with water infiltration and expansion control due to bad detailing, resulting in endless lawsuits to recover the costs of the damages. In many cases the damage was akin to termite infestation: on the surface, everything looked fine; below the finish coat, all h3ll was breaking loose. The recommendations for acceptable detailing have changed significantly over the years as the potential problems with EIFS became better understood. By definition, virtually all these problems will occur where the EIFS materials adjoin something else: window and door openings, the building's roof, the ground. These are historically the same places where most water problems occur and a badly-detailed or -installed EIFS job will virtually guarantee them. We therefore don't much use it on our projects anymore except for superficial and/or non-critical areas like signage, or for portions of the building where the material can be isolated easily and kept away from the problem areas (for example, the triangular gable ends of a building, above the brick line).

Because of all this, EIFS is not something a DIYer should attempt, especially around windows or doors. Many if not most reputable EIFS manufacturers will not sell the materials to anyone except factory-trained and -authorized installers. Done right, it's a great system. Done wrong, it's an absolute nightmare.

[siliconbauhaus]

Totally agree with Larry.

[ivwshane]

Thanks for the info larry!

So what do you suggest I use? Pressure treated 2x4 covered with the normal stucco layers (including 2 layers of type d)?