I've heard this style referred to thusly a few times. Not sure I'm going to be able to match the texture. Anybody know how this stuff is applied?



The shape looks odd in the pic, it's the concrete wall/bannister of sorts on one side of a 4 or 5 step stairway from the front porch to the walkway.

For cracks I would use one of the latex stucco patch products as it retains some flexibility and the cracked area will likely move again. But this spot is unlikely to move. I may just go the easy route and use some of that stuff and smooth it over best I can. Would be nice to match the texture though - don't know if I'm going to pull it off I hate to say.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I try mixing some mortar up with pea gravel added. Apply flush with the existing tops of the stones. Let it begin to set up then take a brush and some water and brush away the soft areas between the pea gravel. Kindof like making exposed aggregate concrete.

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Mine was interior work, I used a youtube recommendation with a wad of crinkled up paper in a plastic bag with joint compound. As stated get the proper exterior mix and try various methods to replicate the texture. Keep in mind you can always remove it if you do not like the results and do it again.

Good advice. Matching texture is tough. I've gotten better at it over the years but I'm no high artist on it.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I doubt that mix has any gravel. It looks like a base coat that's maybe cement and sand, and a finish coat that's a high-lime stucco mix. Just enough water to make it stick. The final finish was almost certainly sprayed, not troweled. It's going to be pretty hard to match the pattern with hand tools. But if you can get the color close, it may look ok.

It resembles a "popcorn" ceiling. How were they constructed?

It's a paint thickened with sand. It's sprayed on.

My best guess is that it's a spray on method, perhaps a heavier duty version of those air compressor powered drywall texturing guns.

The house is easily 50 to 75 years old, it's in the high-end section between the U Cal and the Claremont Hotel.

A widowed Japanese woman, easily in her 80s, runs it as a rooming house. She has about 6 boarders. She's a smart and tough cookie, and I have sort of a soft spot for her, as she reminds me of the old Japanese women that you see in Kurosawa movies.

The gravel idea might actually work though. The only downside is I'm pretty sure I'd have to buy relatively large bags of gravel and stucco mortar to do the job. Wouldn't cost that much, but then you have large bags of stuff to either throw away or hang onto for 10 years and never use. Not to mention just about any Portland cement product goes bad after a year or even less sitting on the shelf. Water vapor degradation apparently. I've learned the hard way to mix up a sample batch of any of that stuff ahead of time to see if it still sets up.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Some of it has Styrofoam bits or the like mixed in with a binder adhesive, sprayed on. Never been crazy about it.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Anything you add to the mix will eventually be exposed by the weather. My suggestion would be to mix the stucco good and thick. Take a spoonful sized blob on the tip of your hawk, and fling it into the patch. Build it up a blob at a time. Practice and you should get something passable.

Sounds prudent.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I use a natural sponge to match the texture.

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It is thrown on through a hardware cloth type screen. Seen it done when I thought I would have to do it. Never did it. Still might, I like it.

I have heard of synthetic stucco and have no idea what that is. I am talking about traditional stucco from the early 1900s.

I would practice on another surface until you get an acceptable match. Clean the repair area chemically. Maybe an etch type of thing, whatever it takes to make plaster stick. Maybe fasten on a piece of lath material. Mask around it with plastic and sling some mud. Wipe up what doesn't belong. Depending on the thickness it may be a multi-layer thing. The first layer may be trowelled on and scratched to hold the thrown layer.

Talk to some plasterers if you can find any.

The paint for this surface is a type of plaster also. Maybe a lime mix.

since you're in Cali, find the closest Mexican craftsman and sub it out to him. It'll be done right and no learning curve for you. Worked for me in OKC when I had some stucco repairs to do on a flip house.

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