Lot of people ask me if I'm going to paint the stucco or assume it is a requirement and that I am going to paint it. But I did not paint the stucco. The reason why is that its unnecessary work especially if you like the color of the stucco. To back me up I will refer to the Portland cement website (they make stucco) which says the following about painting stucco:
"Stucco can be painted. Portland cement-based paints are very compatible with stucco because they are made of the same material. These paints should be scrubbed into the surface and fully cured. Alternatively, you could consider a colored stucco finish. These finish coats are often made with white cement and pigments, providing the widest range of colors. Premixed materials are color matched from batch to batch and are most consistent.
Additionally, the fact that you are placing a finish coat with a nominal thickness of 1/8 inch instead of a paint layer usually gives more assurance of complete coverage. It is possible to paint with other types of paint, though these are usually not as long lasting as cement-based paint. Acrylic paints are long lasting and durable but change the permeability of the stucco (make it non-breathable) which in some climates may have adverse effects on the long-term performance of the system."
So the color of my stucco comes from the white base finish coat I used (i didn't add any coloring) and I like it a lot. To complement it though I decided to paint the trim blue.
The sofit I painted white. To get the right color of white, I brought in a piece of stucco into Lowes and asked them to match the paint to the stucco with there paint computer. The technician immediately complained about the texture saying it casts shadows on the surface and that he may not be able to get the right color. But then after a few minutes he declared success.
Long story short is the white paint is not a precise match to the white stucco and is a little darker. No big deal.
For the drip edge, sofit and gable, I chose Manitou blue SW6501 Sherwin Williams weather shield paint which protects against mold, algae, peeling and cracking and this can be gotten at Lowes. It comes in around $40 a gallon.
The reason why I titled this article, I'm so blue is because I have found that the 100 degree weather makes me sweat and soak my shirt which seems to transfer the blue paint on my shirt to my stomach. Luckily the paint comes off with water otherwise I would be a real life smurf!
I wont go over the details of painting because most people know how to do it. I will have to say that I did invest in a paint stirrer drill attachment. And it was worth it because the blue paint really needed a lot of stirring to make it uniform in color. Also, a good rule to follow is to cover everything you don't want paint om.
The house with all the stuccoing and painting done is shown below:
Because of my decision not to paint the stucco, I saved about $1700 on paint supplies. I'm sure a paint contractor would insist that the stucco needed to be painted. Even the stucco guys who did the garage seemed to think painting was necessary. But it is not necessary and it was common not to paint colored stucco in the 70s.
I spent about $195 for five gallons of paint and about $135 in paint supplies. I used the drop clothes from the stucco work so that saved some money there. Total cost then is $330.
I only spent 17 hours painting a total area of 450 square feet.
According to homewyse.com the cost that a contractor would charge to do the job is about $600.
That means a whopping $270 was saved or 45 %.
Cue the cash register sound.
Due to the excessive heat now in Florida, I think Ill be slowing down. All I can say is at least I don't have to do any roofing in the summer this time.
I do have a few stucco nits yet to take care of but after that I will be focusing on is the last one to complete my permits. It is finishing the paver driveway.
Happy building,
The DR.
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