Stucco has 3 diffrent layers, if you secure anything to the stucco, it would have to be with a cement drill and anchor. If you wanted to ever remove it, then you would need to be sure to get the exact same color of stucco, which can be alittle hard its like matching bricks. You might just want to do what I do. I buy 10ft sections of bull wire, from a tractor supply store, it can be cut with strong wire cutters, to whatever lenght you want. I have 5 ft height. I put it in front of the stucco, and secure it with steel drive post into the ground. Its not going anywhere. Once the vines start to grow, its perfect. You would need to have a trailer to bring the wire home, it will not bend. I even use this in the middle of my yard, in flowerbeds, its great and no maintance. Barbra

The "air gap" is the "cavity" part of a "brick cavity wall system" and is the horizontal distance from the back of the brick to the face of the sheathing. Regardless of what any building code says (see the link below for why the IRC and the earlier CABO codes have long been a very poor guide to brick cavity wall construction) it should be obvious even to an inexperienced designer that the cavity must be left open and unobstructed to allow these two different wall materials (brick and wood) to move independently or the brickwork will crack and it should also be obvious that water that inevitably passes through the brick must be able to run down the back side of the wall to the weep holes at the bottom of the wall without being blocked or transfered to the back-up wall by mortar bridges, filled cavities, or improper brick ties. It's not difficult if you remember that the brick expands when the sun hits it and water runs freely downward unless interrupted by bridging materials. It is physically difficult to achieve a good brick cavity wall with only a 1" cavity because there is so little space for the mason's fingers and trowel therefore mortar bridging is virtually assured and a stainless steel tie might not fit. I strongly recommend a more abrasion resistant house wrap like Tyvek Commercial Wrap or even Typar. If the brick shelf is only 3 1/2" deep at the foundation and the brick is a standard 3 5/8" width and a minimum 1" cavity is maintained then the overhang of the brick at the foundation would be 1 5/8" with only 2" of the brick sitting on the foundation. If the cavity is 3/4" then the brick would have 2 14" bearing and a 1 3/8" overhang. It's not impossible to build but it does not meet time honored industry standards like those from the BIA. One thing you can be sure of is that there is no room for installing insulation in the cavity. The contractor just won that argument. If the contractor insists on using galvanized corrugated brick ties be sure they are initially installed pointing downward so they will be bent outward as well as downward to contact the top of the brick course thereby avoiding a water bridge or the need to twist the tie 180 degrees which can damage the house wrap. Here is a link that might be useful: Problems with Code-Compliant Brick Veneer in Residential Construction

I would remove the brick/siding as planned and inspect for any rot or areas that need attention. It also gives you a chance to put in any needed electrical/plumbing,(spigot), if need be along with the upgraded insulation. Then i would shear panel the wall surface with 1/2" exterior grade plywood. As far as the lath materials, on our build in norcal, the plasterer's used a double ply underlayment similar to felt, but the second ply is what keeps the framing dry as the scratch coat has a tendency to stick to the first ply causing moisture to form behind. Without the second ply there to catch it, the moisture would reach the framing and lead to rot. The moisture is caught by the second ply and runs down and out at the base of the wall by way of a weep screed flashing. Ask a reputable lath and plaster contractor in your area for estimates and info on the double ply underlayment and you will get a feel for the process. Always get more than one estimate from reputable contractors, check references, and ask to see their work on other projects. Take your time with this. By getting someone with decent experience, they will match it up to look as if it was always an original stucco'd exterior rather than looking patched.

>> 1) Has anyone ever done this type of work? >> 2) Does the method explained by my electrician make sense? >> 3) If so, what would you suggest for a backing before the foam is sprayed on? >> 4) What type of foam would you recommend? >> 5) Or is there a totally different way of doing this? Consider this concept: push crumpled newspaper into the wall cavity as a backing for the foam. Squirt spray foam in next to form a barrier (that sticks to the paper and everything else inside the wall cavity) to prevent the next stage's mud from sliding down inside the wall. Some foams dry very fast. Everything the electrical guy uses after the foam will be dry mix plaster. The pre-mixed stuff is for production work and homeowners, not someone who wants to finish today and go home for supper on time. If he uses painter's mud it will set beyond the working stage in five minutes and to the now-we-can-cram-more-mud-in-the-hole stage in maybe ten minutes. You have to work fast with it. The rest is just details anyone would be able to deal with. Some people would pull the baseboard and others would make holes instead of a long "slit". This guy would seem to be comfortable enough with his plastering skills to do it this way which admittedly LOOKS horrendous. I'm impressed with this guy's idea. Let the guy run with it. This post was edited by cold_weather_is_evil on Mon, May 5, 14 at 17:27