Using stucco to refinish the exterior of your house: part 5 choosing the color

In the last blog I discussed some stucco textures I was experimenting with.

In addition to texture, stucco color is a consideration.  The stucco liquid color has a base number of 1319 and the colors that can be had are at this link.   Unfortunately, they cannot be found in my area and the only way to get them is by going through the pro desk at Lowe's.  And to top it off it only comes by the case.   Seeing as I could not get a single bottle of a color to try out and because it takes awhile for the color to reach its final color when it is in the stucco, I contacted quickcrete and they sent me stucco samples of what all the colors look like.  This is shown below:

Based on the color chart, the colors seem to be light colors.  I think there are other ways to color stucco though.  When comparing the color chart to my garage stucco it turns out it really is white without coloring.  Since I like the result I'm going to go with just white finish coat for the color.  If I end up not liking it I can always respray the house with color additives.

Other than that, since my compressor tank did not come in until after the weekend and because I spent an entire Sunday fixing my sister's air conditioner (which by the way was quite a pleasurable experience for me since I like to trouble shoot) I did not get any more practice in.

The compressor tank I bought can be found at this link and is shown below.

 

The ideas is to hook the stucco sprayer directly up to the two tanks before the regulator so that there is large air flow (CFM).  The direct connection is what is recommended in the directions for the sprayer.  The double tank is my idea to have less cycling of the compressor.  Although the down side is longer to fill up the tanks.  The PSI for the sprayer should be from 100 to 120 PSI.  My compressor turns off and on at 130 PSI and 100 PSI and I think this will be ok for the sprayer.


I did manage to spend some time putting plastic on the eaves to prevent the stucco sprayer from coating them.  I found that this product works good for covering eaves when I cut it down the center line for the entire 50' length.  The tape used is poly stucco tape.

 

I have a bit more covering of the eaves and doors and maybe a crack repair and then maybe some more stucco practice to make sure I can get a good consistent stucco texture.  But then it should be go time for the whole front of the house.

That's all for now,   See the results of stuccoing the house in the next blog.

Happy Building!

The Dr.