How to Smooth Out Your Stucco Exterior
Stucco pros explain how to update a rough or heavy texture for a smoother exterior that looks fresh and clean
Erin Carlyle
August 8, 2018
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes... More
Stucco is a long-lasting, durable siding material popular on homes in many parts of the U.S., particularly in the West and Southwest. Today, a smooth stucco texture is the trend in both new construction and renovations. But if your home was built in the 1970s to 1990s, your stucco may have a more heavily textured look. If that doesn’t work for you — for aesthetic reasons or simply due to the hassle of keeping it clean — you can hire a pro to resurface your stucco. Here’s what to know about how to get rough stucco smoothed out, and how much it’s likely to cost.
Smooth stucco, as shown in this photo, is growing in popularity in new homes and renovations.
What Is Stucco?
Stucco has been used as a building material for thousands of years. Traditionally it was made with lime, sand and water. Today stucco is composed of Portland cement and sand and is a relatively long-lasting material. “The cement part of it will last 100 years,” says Mike Cochran of M. Cochran Stucco and Plastering in Mobile, Alabama.
Weather conditions affect how stucco wears and how much cleaning and maintenance is required. In Mobile, where Cochran lives, it’s hot and humid, and stucco tends to mildew and needs frequent cleaning. Where temperatures dip below freezing, the cement in stucco is likely to develop more hairline cracks than it would in drier climates.
What Is Stucco?
Stucco has been used as a building material for thousands of years. Traditionally it was made with lime, sand and water. Today stucco is composed of Portland cement and sand and is a relatively long-lasting material. “The cement part of it will last 100 years,” says Mike Cochran of M. Cochran Stucco and Plastering in Mobile, Alabama.
Weather conditions affect how stucco wears and how much cleaning and maintenance is required. In Mobile, where Cochran lives, it’s hot and humid, and stucco tends to mildew and needs frequent cleaning. Where temperatures dip below freezing, the cement in stucco is likely to develop more hairline cracks than it would in drier climates.
Stucco can have a wide range of finish textures. Some are quite smooth, others heavy with alternating indentations and raised areas. Stucco siding is popular on Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean-style homes, but it can also be found on Tudor-style homes, as this photo of a home in San Francisco shows. In California, modern homes finished with smoothly textured stucco are all the rage for both new homes and renovations.
Why Smooth Out Rough Stucco?
There are a couple of aesthetic reasons to choose a smooth stucco finish. You may simply not like the existing texture, or you want to give your home’s exterior a more uniform look, especially if your house has had previous stucco work that left it with patches of mismatched textures, as shown in this video.
Why Smooth Out Rough Stucco?
There are a couple of aesthetic reasons to choose a smooth stucco finish. You may simply not like the existing texture, or you want to give your home’s exterior a more uniform look, especially if your house has had previous stucco work that left it with patches of mismatched textures, as shown in this video.
There are also maintenance reasons a homeowner might want smooth stucco. Heavily textured stucco can collect dust in its indentations, which over time can lend a dingy appearance, says Kirk Giordano, a plastering and stucco contractor based in Alameda, California. “The rain is full of dust,” Giordano says. Dust and pollutants in the air also settle onto a home’s roof, and when rainstorms wash this grime down the front of the house it settles into the crevices of heavily textured stucco and can leave a streaked appearance. “The more texture, the more dust it holds,” Giordano says. Eventually, moss may grow in the indentations. Giordano has heard from multiple homeowners who find spiders making webs and living in the deep indentations in their stucco. Smoothing a stucco surface can make it less welcoming to insects, Giordano says.
Power-washing can clean off the dirt and grime and refresh the look of dingy stucco, and painting can also refresh its look. But homeowners who find that their homes need to be power-washed frequently may want to consider a smoother stucco surface the next time they have exterior work done.
Power-washing can clean off the dirt and grime and refresh the look of dingy stucco, and painting can also refresh its look. But homeowners who find that their homes need to be power-washed frequently may want to consider a smoother stucco surface the next time they have exterior work done.
The Process of Smoothing Stucco
In most cases there’s no need to remove the old stucco to create a smoother surface. A stucco pro will simply apply a new texture over the existing one.
The pro’s first step will be to power-wash the home. After that, the pro will apply a new stucco base coat. He or she may use a premixed adhesive stucco that will stick to the existing stucco, or the pro may apply a bonding agent to the existing stucco before applying a skim coat of a mix of cement and sand. This base coat can vary in thickness from one-eighth of an inch to more than half an inch and is what will smooth out the undesirable texture. After the base coat, the professional will apply the finish, or color coat, which is typically about one-eighth of an inch thick.
When the indentations in the existing stucco are very shallow (less than one-eighth inch deep), a color or finish coat will be all that’s needed. As may be expected, adding just a color coat is typically less costly than adding both a base coat and a color coat. A good stucco and plastering professional will be able to tell you which solution would be appropriate for your home.
Find siding and exterior professionals near you
In most cases there’s no need to remove the old stucco to create a smoother surface. A stucco pro will simply apply a new texture over the existing one.
The pro’s first step will be to power-wash the home. After that, the pro will apply a new stucco base coat. He or she may use a premixed adhesive stucco that will stick to the existing stucco, or the pro may apply a bonding agent to the existing stucco before applying a skim coat of a mix of cement and sand. This base coat can vary in thickness from one-eighth of an inch to more than half an inch and is what will smooth out the undesirable texture. After the base coat, the professional will apply the finish, or color coat, which is typically about one-eighth of an inch thick.
When the indentations in the existing stucco are very shallow (less than one-eighth inch deep), a color or finish coat will be all that’s needed. As may be expected, adding just a color coat is typically less costly than adding both a base coat and a color coat. A good stucco and plastering professional will be able to tell you which solution would be appropriate for your home.
Find siding and exterior professionals near you
How Much Does It Cost to Smooth Stucco?
The cost of applying a smooth stucco finish varies widely from region to region. In the high-priced San Francisco Bay Area where Giordano lives, the cost to pressure-wash and retexture with a base coat and a color coat on a 1,500-square-foot house would typically run $12,000 to $14,000. For a 3,000-square-foot, two-story home that requires scaffolding, the cost could be $38,000 to $40,000. If only a color coat is needed, the prices would be about half that.
Stucco pro Ryan Clark of Blue Collar Stucco in Nevada City, California, says rates to pressure-wash a 1,500-square-foot home and retexture it with a base coat and finish coat would run $4,500 to $7,500 in his area. The same work on a 3,000-square-foot, two-story home would run $9,000 to $15,000, he says. If only a color coat is needed, the cost would be 20 to 30 percent less.
How Long Does It Take to Smooth Stucco?
Pressure-washing a 1,500-square-foot home and adding a base coat and a color coat could take one to four days of active work by professionals, not including cure time. The same work on a 3,000 square foot home would take anywhere from two to eight days of labor. The total duration of any project will need to include time for the base coat to cure, which can be a week or more. The finish coat can’t be applied until the base coat is sufficiently cured.
Just pressure-washing and adding only a color coat (with no base coat) would take about half the time as pressure-washing and adding both a base coat and a finish coat.
The cost of applying a smooth stucco finish varies widely from region to region. In the high-priced San Francisco Bay Area where Giordano lives, the cost to pressure-wash and retexture with a base coat and a color coat on a 1,500-square-foot house would typically run $12,000 to $14,000. For a 3,000-square-foot, two-story home that requires scaffolding, the cost could be $38,000 to $40,000. If only a color coat is needed, the prices would be about half that.
Stucco pro Ryan Clark of Blue Collar Stucco in Nevada City, California, says rates to pressure-wash a 1,500-square-foot home and retexture it with a base coat and finish coat would run $4,500 to $7,500 in his area. The same work on a 3,000-square-foot, two-story home would run $9,000 to $15,000, he says. If only a color coat is needed, the cost would be 20 to 30 percent less.
How Long Does It Take to Smooth Stucco?
Pressure-washing a 1,500-square-foot home and adding a base coat and a color coat could take one to four days of active work by professionals, not including cure time. The same work on a 3,000 square foot home would take anywhere from two to eight days of labor. The total duration of any project will need to include time for the base coat to cure, which can be a week or more. The finish coat can’t be applied until the base coat is sufficiently cured.
Just pressure-washing and adding only a color coat (with no base coat) would take about half the time as pressure-washing and adding both a base coat and a finish coat.
Alternatives to Smoothing Out Stucco
An alternative to retexturing your stucco is to simply wash, patch and paint it. A professional painter can power-wash the stucco, then apply new paint. Many painting companies also are willing to patch small cracks, though for major repairs, painters will likely refer you to a stucco expert.
But if you are bothered by heavy texture, painting it is likely to only renew the appearance of your existing stucco. If your issue is mismatched patching, paint may only emphasize the differences.
How to Get Your Home’s Exterior Painted
More
Stucco Smooths Modern Home Exteriors
How to Wash Your House
An alternative to retexturing your stucco is to simply wash, patch and paint it. A professional painter can power-wash the stucco, then apply new paint. Many painting companies also are willing to patch small cracks, though for major repairs, painters will likely refer you to a stucco expert.
But if you are bothered by heavy texture, painting it is likely to only renew the appearance of your existing stucco. If your issue is mismatched patching, paint may only emphasize the differences.
How to Get Your Home’s Exterior Painted
More
Stucco Smooths Modern Home Exteriors
How to Wash Your House
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Here is a recipe for an authentic Southwest style smooth exterior stucco developed by Old Pueblo Adobe in the early 1980's. I have used it on my wood shop and house with excellent results. The finish coat is smoothed with round corner pool trowels. The color is in the stucco so the building doesn't need painting for 100 years.
Our 1816 Pennsylvania farmhouse would probably qualify as "rough" stucco since I applied a lot of it and I'm no expert. I rather like it that way.
FYI, I saw this historic (early 19th Century) house outside Philadelphia a couple of nights ago, finished with ROUGH pebble-dashed stucco. Gorgeous!