An Introduction to Stucco

We help pick the right stucco

... for you.

There are two main types of stucco and several wall systems that can be installed using them. Here is a brief introduction.

The first type of stucco is traditional, sand and cement, or California style. It is the rough cementitious stucco used exclusively until the 1980s in western Canada. It is still used today and it still is a great stucco product to use. It is tried and true; performing flawlessly in our tough climate. It expands and contracts with the heat and the cold. It absorbs and sheds water and dries out again - over and over. It is pest and fire resistant. It is natural.

Traditional stucco can be applied over many substrates - wood, cement, and foam for example. The layers applied have not changed for decades. There is a scratch coat, a brown or skim coat, and a finish coat. The scratch coat and brown coat form the base coat layers. They are grey cement based - tough and durable. The finish coat brings the wall to life. It gets tinted to the colour you prefer and gets textured to add depth and interest to your exterior.

Depending on what your wall sheathing consists of, the elements used under the base coat and the exact type of base coat may vary. We choose the structure and the materials used to build your wall based on the building’s existing walls and based on what your final look will be. As stated previously, content will be added to expand upon this information.

The second type of stucco is acrylic. This stucco appeared in our market starting in the 1980s and became very popular through the 1990s. Today, it vastly outpaces the use of traditional stucco. It is slick and modern looking. Less rough to the touch and to the eye than traditional stucco; the big appeal of an acrylic finish coat is its smoothness and its more vibrant colouring. The use of synthetic materials along with the timeless cementitious components added properties to stucco that gave us more choices with what stucco could become.

Modern acrylic systems are often referred to as EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System) stucco. Not all acrylic is EIFS though. Acrylic stucco simply refers to the finish coat used. It can be part of an EIFS installation or the acrylic finish can simply be the last layer applied to a stucco wall.

As with traditional stucco, the actual components of an acrylic stucco application can vary. With acrylic systems, this variance is very broad. Most installs keep the basic layers of base coat and finish coat, but what is happening under that acrylic finish coat can look very different from building to building. Acrylic stucco is not as tough as traditional stucco - it employs many features to protect your building like reinforcing fibreglass mesh and polymers, adhesive and fibres. Acrylic is synthetic - it is made to move, to be flexible as your building moves with weather and the earth.

But stucco is not quite that simple - some stucco systems are hybrids. A hybrid install has components of traditional stucco and of acrylic stucco.

Don’t worry, we will help you choose what is best for your building. We will make our best recommendation and will also offer you options. We offer information and education. You don’t have to be the stucco pro - that’s our job!