Home Construction Discussion

[RoyalDude]

Hey

Chef Boi RD would like to start a thread in the Home Construction, new build or renovation area, whatever, you get my drift. Share thoughts, pointers, tips, advice, ideas, assistance, projects etc.

I would like to start the thread with this, "how the fuck do we go about fixing that shit hole recreation property, that Blob Mackenzie bought in the sticks, on a shoe string budget." This is dire. If Blobby is going to invite me to his summer compound, I expect 4 star accommodation at the least, not the current negative 1 star that it is currently rated at. I don't want to be wiping my ass with maple leaves after taking a massive shit crouched behind a tree and sleeping on dirt in my sleeping bag.

Lets work this out, lets fix BlobbyCats vacation compound.

[BCExpat]

Good Thread RD. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. I work as a consultant in the design/construction industry, although most of my work is in commercial/institutional/industrial type projects. I have also built and renovated many homes over the years.

[creeper]

It is a good idea for a thread....too bad Royal Dude didn't try to get the ball rolling with a serious contribution.

I thought we were all packing lightly and leaving the lame humor behind?

[BCExpat]

I'm in the process of designing and building a bar in my basement. I'm looking at something tropical - like a Tiki bar. So, it'll have a lot of bamboo in it, grass paper, etc. I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.

[CFP!]

Beauty.

I have a stuccoed chimmeny.

From the early eighties.

Pieces falling off past the roofline (so the top 5-6 ft).

Advice? Just stucco fix?

[BCExpat]

Beauty.

I have a stuccoed chimmeny.

From the early eighties.

Pieces falling off past the roofline (so the top 5-6 ft).

Advice? Just stucco fix?

Is the stucco applied directly to concrete block or some other masonry? Or is it applied over metal lath or stucco wire (usually over plywood)? What is behind the stucco? It makes a difference as to what you can do. If the stucco is applied directly to masonry or concrete block, then, my guess as to what is happening is the thermal movement of the substrate, due to heating and cooling of the chimney, is causing the delamination. It sound's like part of the chimney below the roof line is insulated. Anyway, bottom line, if you are going to repair the stucco, I would remove it above the chimney, and install metal lath or stucco wire over the masonry, and then apply new stucco. At least this way, you won't be depending on the bond directly to the masonry.

If you have wood framing, and you have delamination, then there are other issues - ie - it could be that you don't have proper drainage behind the stucco - so moisture is trapped in the stucco and if it freezes, the freeze-thaw cycles would cause delamination. It could be that the guy putting the stucco on, didn't mix it properly. There could be a number of reasons why the stucco is delaminating.

Also, does the stucco go right down to the roof? It should stop up above the roof line, and then flashing should be applied between the bottom of the stucco and the roofing. You don't want the stucco right against the shingles.

[RoyalDude]

It is a good idea for a thread....too bad Royal Dude didn't try to get the ball rolling with a serious contribution.

I thought we were all packing lightly and leaving the lame humor behind?

Sorry about that creeper.

Anyhow, I myself would like this to be a quality thread full of good discussion in the home building area. I myself am a builder, carpenter by trade. Currently working in the Kerrisdale area.

Hey CFP, Stucco from the early 80's? Hmm, acrylic, sand float was the stucco trend in the 80's if memory serves me correct, unlike the revival of slop dash, rock dash we are seeing today. Also, being that your house is from the 80's, you have no rainscreen system that is code today, it will be stucco mesh over something like 30 minute building paper. Like BC Expat says, sounds to me like a heat issue from the chimney causing some sort of delaminating or water wicking back up behind the stucco due to poor flashing on the roof, that being said, I have seen in my experience poor stucco application, scratch coat, brown coat and meshing in hard to get places such as chimneys. Also in hard to stucco areas, the stucco stops/J Bead when tricky to apply are attached poorly can cause to the stucco to crack and give away cause it's not locked in all that well. These are the metal strips at the bottoms and tops of walls and at window and door and door returns and at roof lines etc. Could be a myriad of things.

There is/was an issue with some stucco guys whereby the apply regular old dish soap to their scratch coat mix to make the scratch coat more plyable(?), easier to put on for the one putting it on but it has been found that the soap additive causes the scratch coat to eventually crack and there failing and stucco eventually becoming susceptible to falling off.

If there is a consistency of cracking etc. throughout the house,, just general poor looking stucco, it may come down to a result ofa poor/cheap stucco job done originally. Quite common.

[CFP!]

Is the stucco applied directly to concrete block or some other masonry?
Also, does the stucco go right down to the roof? It should stop up above the roof line, and then flashing should be applied between the bottom of the stucco and the roofing. You don't want the stucco right against the shingles.

Thanks guys. Stucco looks to be applied to the concrete blocks. I cant see any mesh under the stucco. What depth is Stucco usually applied at? 3/4"-1"-ish?

The overall appearance of the stucco is great, except the top part of the chimmney and one corner where it has been beaten with water. So for the chimmney the best way to repair is completely expose to the concrete block and patch from there with wire mesh? How do you suggest to adhere the mesh to the blocks? I do have a hammer drill if nessecary.

I'm a HVAC guy, mainly residential if anyone dares to ask a question....

[Hank]

I'm in the process of designing and building a bar in my basement. I'm looking at something tropical - like a Tiki bar. So, it'll have a lot of bamboo in it, grass paper, etc. I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.

Cool man! Just don't make your bar look like Flames Central

[BCExpat]

Is the stucco applied directly to concrete block or some other masonry?
Also, does the stucco go right down to the roof? It should stop up above the roof line, and then flashing should be applied between the bottom of the stucco and the roofing. You don't want the stucco right against the shingles.

Thanks guys. Stucco looks to be applied to the concrete blocks. I cant see any mesh under the stucco. What depth is Stucco usually applied at? 3/4"-1"-ish?

The overall appearance of the stucco is great, except the top part of the chimmney and one corner where it has been beaten with water. So for the chimmney the best way to repair is completely expose to the concrete block and patch from there with wire mesh? How do you suggest to adhere the mesh to the blocks? I do have a hammer drill if nessecary.

I'm a HVAC guy, mainly residential if anyone dares to ask a question....

If it is only a small area, then it's probably just as easy to clean off the delaminated area and re-apply stucco right over the concrete block again. Its probably not worth removing all of the stucco (unless you have major delaminations). The important things are - make sure the area that you are reapplying the stucco to, are cleaned - I would even roughen up the surface - this will really help the bond. Use a hammer and chisel. Then just patch those areas - make sure you mix the materials correctly. Don't try to fill it in with only one coat - do it in at least 2 and preferrably three coats. The top coat is likely a coloured coat (maybe white) - so the mix for the top coat will be different than the mix for the bottom coat or two. Make sure the first two coats have a good texture to them, to ensure proper bond - take a broom and sweep over the surface while each coat is still wet. Hopefully the texture and colour of the surface coat won't be hard to match. Anyway, you could end up being a 2 trade guy - stucco and HVAC, lol.

[BCExpat]

I'm in the process of designing and building a bar in my basement. I'm looking at something tropical - like a Tiki bar. So, it'll have a lot of bamboo in it, grass paper, etc. I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.

Cool man! Just don't make your bar look like Flames Central

I've been to Flames Central - it's definitely not the look I want. I always wanted a bar on a beach - looks like this is going to be the closest I get to it.

[RoyalDude]

Is the stucco applied directly to concrete block or some other masonry?
Also, does the stucco go right down to the roof? It should stop up above the roof line, and then flashing should be applied between the bottom of the stucco and the roofing. You don't want the stucco right against the shingles.

Thanks guys. Stucco looks to be applied to the concrete blocks. I cant see any mesh under the stucco. What depth is Stucco usually applied at? 3/4"-1"-ish?

The overall appearance of the stucco is great, except the top part of the chimmney and one corner where it has been beaten with water. So for the chimmney the best way to repair is completely expose to the concrete block and patch from there with wire mesh? How do you suggest to adhere the mesh to the blocks? I do have a hammer drill if nessecary.

I'm a HVAC guy, mainly residential if anyone dares to ask a question....

Makes more sense now. Sometimes stucco is applied straight to mason blocks if a good mechanical key (Bond/Anchor) can be achieved between stucco and block via scraping out a half inch of mortar in the joints or sometimes not even, just straight on to chimney block. It's almost a guarantee that the stucco will eventually peel off in spots over time due to water getting behind and the frost heaving etc. The fix is quite simple really. I'd remove as much of the trouble area as possible, hell if you even feel up to it, remove all the stucco from the chimney block but the more you remove the more money you have to spend. After stucco is removed from chimney then wire stucco mesh is wrapped around chimney fastened via tapcon srews. Those blue mason screws you see at the hardward store, the boxes come with mason bit for pre-drilling and sometimes a phillips bit if you buy the tapered phillips head tapcon screws instead of the hex head driver tapcon screws , but you may want to get a pro to do this all for you. I can recommend a couple different guys if you like.

Speaking of HVAC. I got some questions for you. I have a reno coming up whereby the architect wants to put furnace and hotwater tank in the crawl space. Are you well versed at this set up and the sizes of the equipment I can get away with cause reason being, the crawl space height isn't great. Talking somewhere between 3 and 4 feet.

[CFP!]

Alright, we already have our first succesful education on a house fix - now to nail the actual job and not just "understand" it. Thanks again.

Speaking of HVAC. I got some questions for you. I have a reno coming up whereby the architect wants to put furnace and hotwater tank in the crawl space. Are you well versed at this set up and the sizes of the equipment I can get away with cause reason being, the crawl space height isn't great. Talking somewhere between 3 and 4 feet.

Furnace as in an air handler?

If so, yes. How many rooms, entrances, living spaces, bathrooms need to be heated? 1/2 floors? Rancher?

I really hope the crawl is poured, bcs dragging around a tarp sucks.

[RoyalDude]

Alright, we already have our first succesful education on a house fix - now to nail the actual job and not just "understand" it. Thanks again.

Speaking of HVAC. I got some questions for you. I have a reno coming up whereby the architect wants to put furnace and hotwater tank in the crawl space. Are you well versed at this set up and the sizes of the equipment I can get away with cause reason being, the crawl space height isn't great. Talking somewhere between 3 and 4 feet.

Furnace as in an air handler?

If so, yes. How many rooms, entrances, living spaces, bathrooms need to be heated? 1/2 floors? Rancher?

I really hope the crawl is poured, bcs dragging around a tarp sucks.

Yes, 'Forced Air'. Were considering radiant floor heating cause owner was considereing finished concrete flooring but architect talked client out of it. It's a rancher and the mech area will be in the new addition crawl space whereby we will pour a slab. Some parts of the existing crawl has dirt some has concrete. Client wants existing crawl to be all slab. Should be done before HVAC/Plumbing system is started. How many rooms? 6 around there. Do you know costs on the different types 'efficiency levels' that can be used, from best to poor? I know that is an extremely loaded question without looking at plans.

BTW, currently going through my first experience on a build where an Air to Liquid Heat Pump system is being installed. Man, that's a cool system, bloody expensive. It's taking me awhile to wrap my head around how it actually works.

[ODB]

I'm a HVAC guy, mainly residential if anyone dares to ask a question....

Ok serious question...

I want to get a new top of the line furnace, air conditioning unit and a HEPA filter system installed. That part is easy! Where things get tricky is... I don't want to pay for any of it! Any ideas? Tips on how to rip off HVAC guys?!?!