Versus stucco8/19/2023 ![]() If you live in a busy neighborhood or want some peace and quiet at your office, the best building material to cancel out sound is plaster and stucco. ![]() Textured Plaster with a light coat of white paint Of course you can buy plaster premade from various stores and brands but it’s like Grandma’s cookies: store bought cookies ain’t got nothing on Grandma’s homemade pieces of heaven! A good fresh mixed mud will last much longer and is easier to work with than the canned stuff that will dry out and crack in a year or two. Like stucco, sometimes the mud just needs something to cling to. Instead of metal lath, if we are doing patch work we will use a finer mesh to act as a backbone for the plaster. Although it is slightly softer than stucco, it will still hold up for more years than you can count. Plaster is a gypsum based product that looks wonderful in your home or office. Although there is no such thing as a maintenance free building, it is low maintenance and will last as long as you want it to you if you take care of it. ![]() Stucco will stand the test of time and Mother Nature, no matter how wicked she may be. (Pun intended since it is a form of rock.) When you visit historical buildings that are hundreds of years old and look what they’re made of, you’ll see that it’s stucco. We used this mostly when we are applying stucco to a smooth surface. This helps hold the stucco to the wall by giving it something to cling to. Before it is applied, we used a layer of metal lath which is sort of like a really really thick chicken wire. To add some fun texture, different types of sand are used in specific quantities to make sure you enjoy every inch of your home. The fiberglass acts as another structural support to make sure cracks stay away and no chunks will fall off. For added strength and support we will sometimes mix bits of fiberglass strands in with the mud. Stucco is a Portland and lime based product. You might now say “Hey, they are pretty much the same materials, I mean, you apply them the same way, don’t you?” And yes, we do apply them using the same methods and techniques and that’s because that is what works the best. The simplest explanation is as follows: stucco is for the exterior and plaster is for the interior. ![]() You might have read the snapshot of this discussion in our monthly newsletter but we wanted to elaborate for you. We are here to shatter all rumors and inform you that yes, there is a difference. Week 39 and Beyond – “Rome…by all means, Rome” (and back in the U.S.A.The time old question of plaster vs stucco and is there a difference? I mean, they are basically made out of the same materials.Now, with the National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize in Historic Preservation and Conservation awarded to me by the American Academy in Rome, I will follow in the footsteps of Vitruvius, utilizing his methodology of direct observation of existing buildings (the details, materials, and methods of their construction, and their current condition) to derive the lessons they have to teach us regarding long-term durability and preservation. In the course of my 14 years of practice in historic preservation, the work of the Roman architect/engineer/planner/master builder Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (Vitruvius), as set forth in his seminal text The Ten Books of Architecture, has provided me with a frequent touchstone for my own work.
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