Exterior Wall Work

[Roosterrusek]

Yo, my wife and I need to get an exterior wall re-done. I don't know how to describe it, but the prettyish stuff that was put on the cinderblocks on the bottom of the house has now broken off in a few places.

In getting the house ready to sell in a year, we are fixing etc...My question...it's not that big of a wall (just one) could this be something I could do or should I hire out?

P

[masraum]

Are you sure the area can't just be patched to match the rest of the wall and then painted?

[Zeke]

What is prettyish stuff? Stucco?
Where do you live, in freeze country?
Come on man, you expect advice to fix "prettyish stuff?"

Your man card, please.

[Roosterrusek]

Originally Posted by milt

What is prettyish stuff? Stucco?
Where do you live, in freeze country?
Come on man, you expect advice to fix "prettyish stuff?"

Your man card, please.

Duly noted....will do better, ahem...

Yo that crap that people have put on their houses to cover up the cinder blocks at the base of their houses, is that always Stucco or some other stuff? I have some areas that need fixin whilst I go wild boar hunting which we do with Bowie knives instead of guns...gives the hogs at least a fightin chance.

Is that crap expensive? I can do just about any home project and would rather do it myself (grunt / scratch) than pay someone.

This mo betta?

[rnln]

ehem... look like you'll have to post some pics

[Roosterrusek]

Pics....good point

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yes, pics would be helpful. I'll assume you're talking about some sort of stucco adhered to CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit) substrate... Incidentally they're called CMUs, not "cinderblocks" or "cement blocks" - cement is a constituent ingredient of concrete. "Concrete blocks" is acceptable too and won't make you the butt of jokes. If a contractor ever heard you say "cinderblocks" they'd probably peg you as naive/ignorant of construction and their price would reflect it... A word to the wise should be sufficient.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Yes, pics would be helpful. I'll assume you're talking about some sort of stucco adhered to CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit) substrate... Incidentally they're called CMUs, not "cinderblocks" or "cement blocks" - cement is a constituent ingredient of concrete. "Concrete blocks" is acceptable too and won't make you the butt of jokes. If a contractor ever heard you say "cinderblocks" they'd probably peg you as naive/ignorant of construction and their price would reflect it... A word to the wise should be sufficient.

Now that all that's straight.....

It's probably stucco over block and the freeze/thaw cycle has popped it off.

Rooster, I would suggest that you can patch this. If it's more than 3/8ths thick, put a base coat in the patch and float it off level or slightly below level with the surrounding surface. Use a sponge type float. Base coat is almost the same as mortar if you want to buy it premixed.

Stucco patch comes in a couple of varieties. The white stuff will spread thin and blend real well. The gray stuff will build higher and can be worked in for a nice blend if you have a little experience.

Tools needed: bucket, small mason's trowel, soft float trowel and maybe a sheet of thin plywood if this is real low to the ground. Throw the mix down on the plywood snugged up below the repair area and lift/spread into the patch.

Wear cotton gloves if you have tender hands. The cement and lime will burn your skin.

[john70t]

Yup.
Slap on a patch of mud this summer and let the next owner deal with it.

Oh, did you say there were serious pre-existing structural defects that you deliberately concealed?

Good luck.

[A930Rocket]

Sounds like the guys have it handled.

I call it parging, and have the masons use a masonary cement to parge or stucco the wall. Different textures can be had by troweling and then paint it to match.

[Roosterrusek]

Pics...

[A930Rocket]

The pix seem to be a stair step type crack that would indicate the underlying structure is settling or has settled from the looks of the age of the house/material. porbably won't settle any more at this point.

I'd scrape the old mortar to remove the loose mortar, wash the impacted areas (pressure wash it if you can), then parge with some ready mix mortar, cut in with a paint brush and paint the open areas with a roller.

[mossguy]

Have you run this by OddJobUno?