stucco questions Pompeii Oven Construction Discuss stucco questions in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; i have been delinquent in posting my progress, but i am about 6 brick cuts from finishing the dome of ...

[stonylake]

i have been delinquent in posting my progress, but i am about 6 brick cuts from finishing the dome of my 36" oven. i hope to have my chimney arch finished by the end of the week and want to start to stucco next week. can anyone point me to a good instructive thread on "how to stucco". i live in Michigan, so its going to have to be freeze/thaw resistant and waterproof...

[Lousdepot]

i am interested in this as well. I am sick of covering mine with a tarp and winter is coming!!

[Tscarborough]

This application is a little different than normal stucco specifications. I am thinking through the best way to solve the 2 major issues with traditional stucco applied to a monolithic hemisphere, but am not in agreement on the best way to do so yet.

As it stands, the normal method is to apply lathing over the insulation, then apply 2 or 3 coats of stucco, then apply a sealer of some sort.

The issues are cracking and water penetration, both of which are exacerbated by the shape and requirement for the stucco to be monolithic.

For basic stucco info, this is a pretty good site:

Application

[stonylake]

I found a couple of products from Sto Corporation, the first being a base and brown coat called Powerwall. The final coat will be a product called Stolit 1.5, acrylic and tintable.

[Lousdepot]

Originally Posted by stonylake

I found a couple of products from Sto Corporation, the first being a base and brown coat called Powerwall. The final coat will be a product called Stolit 1.5, acrylic and tintable.

i just got done using the STO products. base coat was easy to apply with a trowel, finish/color coat was difficult. directions said to use a trowel! if i could do it again i would use a roller! stuff was like paint with sand in it. 10 minutes after i finished it started to pour, so i had to cover with tarp in a hurry. results were not great but i can live with it, attached is pics of 2 coats

[stonylake]

The people at STO threw in a quart of primer that goes on before the final coat. I need a clear/dry day so that i can get the final coat on this thing before it snows. I think I'm going to have a couple of grout floats ready when i try it.. the Stolit is 1.5 medium grade, and looks like runny oatmeal..

[Nic The Landscaper]

You do not want to use a grout float with an acrylic finish like STO. You should be using a steel trowel and hawk to apply the material quickly. Then use a plastic float in a circular or figure 8 motion to smooth, level, and texture the product. A grout float will lift the product off the surface.

[stonylake]

Thanks Nic, i think you just saved me a lot of frustration... rain in the forcast all week, maybe I'll get a window to get it done this coming Saturday...

[Lousdepot]

nic thats how i did it and good thing i didnt try my idea of rolling it on. i used hawk and steel trowel and although runny the only trouble is your figure 8 pattern is hard on a domed surface. good luck

[Nic The Landscaper]

The thing about these products is that it takes years of practice to really get anywhere with it. I grew up in a stucco family, so I was born with Hawk and Trowel in hand, and even with 10 years of playing with the stuff I still make some big mistakes with the floating process. The best thing I can recommend is to do a quick practice and warm up on some durock before you go to the dome with it. A good half hour of practice/warm up will get the muscle memory going before you get to the real thing and that will help. Also smaller trowels and floats will make the process easier and faster, they are easier to control.