Pottery Studio — Part 5

When last we left, the new windows were installed in the front of the pottery studio, the interior finished, and two layers of roofing felt applied to the exterior wall in preparation for stucco.  The next step was to attach a metal weep channel at the bottom of the wall; this allows for any water that manages to get behind the stucco to run down the roofing felt and exit at the bottom of the wall.  The channel also provides a neat ledge for the stucco to sit on at the bottom of the wall. 

Next the wire mesh goes on, fastened with special furring nails that have spacers to keep the wire about a quarter-inch off the wall.  I also use galvanized 1/4" crown staples in between the nails to provide further support.  Then the corners are reinforced with heavy wire corner bead.

Here's a closeup:

Here's a photo of the first (scratch) coat starting to go on.  It's called the scratch coat because before it has hardened, a special tool is used to scratch horizontal grooves into the soft stucco.  The grooves give the second coat something to adhere to. 

With the scratch coat on, the second coat is applied (it's called the "brown" coat, which must have some historical significance . . .).  I'm still developing my technique, so I'm calling the resulting texture "rustic."  After each batch of stucco goes on, it's a good idea to mist it with a fine spray of water every couple of hours so that it doesn't dry too quickly and crack. 

Here both coats of stucco are on, and the plastic sheet removed from the windows.  Tomorrow I'll apply a very thin coat of finish stucco to even out the texture a little.  After that, it all cures for a month before I can apply two coats of elastomeric stucco paint.  Like the name implies, it's a flexible coating that keeps out moisture and bridges any small cracks that may develop.  It also makes all the walls the same color :-)

While I'm waiting, I'm going to put down the new floor tile in the pottery studio, scrape and stain the fascia and eves on the front of the house (will match the front door frame), and continue to apply stucco paint to the back of the house.  And work on the new water supply system . . .  Here's the old tile in the pottery studio getting blasted off the floor.