Houseful, If they go over the old stucco, not only will you never see what damage and leaks etc might need to be repaired - well maybe in theory the new stucco will protect it - your walls are going to get really thick. You might need to replace or extend window sills/flashings etc, since if they become recessed in the stucco, water will get behind them. Not good. I think the only way to get a satisfactory result would be to remove old stucco. I've done it, not fun. Mind you I dislike stucco from that point of view anyway :) Just because these guys SAY they can do it that way, doesn't make it so. Ask to see previous examples of this redo, and ask the owners how it's held up.

hoosier, you are definitely on the right forum, these ladies are a wealth of information and some of the nicest folks you'll ever get to know. Their good advise is always spot on and they don't seem to mind telling of their experience. I sometimes am embarrassed to ask a silly question, but they always jump in and answer me! They have gotten me thru multiple projects and I'm sure there will be more questions from me in the future! They advised me to put a layer of thinset on a manaquin, that I am still working on by the way, and my tess is adhering just fine. I don't have a lot left to finish on it but my time to work on it just doesn't seem to be there lately! Good luck on your fire pit cover, I know it will be amazing!

I am as traditional as they come, and you should see what I chose for our patio oroject we did 2 years ago! We already had a wood burning fire place on our covered porch, but we added a gas fire pit to our patio bc we were extending the ng line for our built in grill anyway. When the contractor brought all the samples of rocks and glass...I couldn’t stop playing with the light blue...it was gorgeous! Our house is white painted brick, and we were constructing the seating wall, fire pit and grill/kitchen out of brick we planning to paint white to match the house...so I thought...this will be pretty! And it is! It looks like a water feature! It so isn’t like me to do something this out of the box, but that’s part of why I love it! Here’s a pic! This is right after it was finished...paint needs touching up.

Is the paint I got not good??? I did all the research I could and this is what they said to use..... could you suggest better, please..... your comments do not help! I need answers, not criticism..... if I COULD get it sandblasted I would, but as my purse strings are tight, this is not an option. Please offer solutions I CAN actually work with, please.