The "scratch coat" of stucco

Sunday, Aug. 7: After various experiments with a block-and-tackle pulley system that I purchased on eBay, I satisfied myself that I could safely hoist 75-pound trays of liquid stucco high onto a scaffold and begin to git 'er done.

Problem:  How to get heavy pans of stucco mix onto a shelf that is approximately 18 feet above the ground.

I added the highest level of the scaffold to make it easier to spread stucco above the window opening. I installed a heavy eye-screw into the roof facia that could support the block-and-tackle rig. The idea here is to mix the stucco on the ground and then hoist a pan all the way to the high scaffold and slide it sideways onto the scaffold-board.

I placed an 80-pound bag of dry stucco mix onto the rig to test the strength of everything.  The block-and-tackle cost only about $25 on eBay, but it came with a cheap, braided poly-rope that wasn't long enough (nor strong enough).  The solution was this yellow, 100-foot rope from Home Depot, which I threaded through the pulleys. This gave me a 7:1 hoist ratio – making it feel like I was lifting about 1/7 of the actual weight.

The black plastic tray is sitting on a piece of 3/4" plywood. I quickly discovered that the chains pinched the sides of the plastic, thus making it impossible for me to slide the tray onto the scaffold-board.  So, I came up with the solution below.

Necessity, the mother of invention: To keep the chains from pinching the plastic, I built a sort of "crate" using 8" carriage bolts, nuts, washers, and strips of wood.  With this rigid crate, the plastic tray slides easily in and out – important when it weighs 75 pounds and is dangling 18 feet above the ground.

Above and below: The final preparations involved covering the windows with 6-mil plastic and heavy-duty red stucco tape.

This is the top portion of the lower window, carefully covered with plastic and tape.

A messy, heavy tray of liquid stucco, ready to be hoisted into the air.

I started at the top and worked my way down. Spreading stucco is relatively easy – like frosting a cake, except that it requires more arm strength. Using two trowels, I slathered it on liberally – with no regard for how much fell to the ground. You cannot worry about the waste, you just have to embrace the mess and get the job done.   After smearing it above the upper window, I slid the highest part of the scaffold out of my way and worked my way down the sides.

I mixed the stucco on the ground in the electric mixer, dumped it into the pan, slid the pan onto the crate-rig, then lifted it upward. It was a joyful mess.

Above and below:  I was careful to bond the stucco tightly to the existing wall, feathering it with a wet sponge as it began to cure.

Final step:  Once the stucco began to harden, I scratched grooves into it using a small garden claw-tiller. This is called the "scratch coat" – the grooves create a rough surface for better adhesion of the next coat. I hope to do the fill-coat next Sunday, and the final color-coat on Monday.

If the color-match isn't close enough, I might have to do some painting.  Either way, I hope to have this scaffold torn down within a few weeks so that my homeowners association can give me the final sign-off for the only part of this project  that they care about: the outside.