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StuccoMetrics.com
is conceived to be a stucco information resource that serves everyone
interested in stucco in the here and now, and well into the future – building
owners, design and construction professionals, artisans, craftsmen, product
manufacturers, and inspectors - to advance and proliferate the art, science,
quality and performance of stucco exterior wall cladding assemblies. The vision of StuccoMetrics.com is to have a part in forging a new paradigm for
stucco, a viewpoint that takes this stucco exterior wall cladding material
that has the characteristics of being wonderfully pleasing, durable, both
technically and aesthetically into the 21st century. For much too long stucco has been relegated
to service where its technical and aesthetic capabilities have been
uninspired and underutilized, particularly in recent decades where it has
often been used in mundane ways with mundane aesthetics on rudimentary
applications. Cracking and water
intrusion will be the death of stucco if we do not intervene and take the
high road, but these challenges can be reasonably overcome with reasonable
care, attention to detail and technology that we can and must implement
NOW. We have the wherewithal to make
stucco and its use much more prolific, rewarding and invigorating than the
position it holds today, or not, it is completely up to us. Stucco can easily hold its own as a
beautiful, functionally-effective and cost effective wall cladding material
well into the future:
·
The stucco aesthetic is
timeless. Stucco holds its own when applied
with traditional, mission style and other common architectural style and
aesthetics.
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Enhanced drainage
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Enhanced thermal efficiency
·
Enhanced drainage and thermal
efficiency with rainscreen wall cladding assemblies
that efficiently meet the full range of the highest thermal efficiency and
water resistivity performance expectations.
·
No technical reason exists that
would prevent stucco from being used as an alternate to expensive stone,
metal panel and even more exotic cladding materials on everything from tall
buildings, commercial, governmental and institutional buildings, to
modest-scale buildings of any occupancy with the highest quality aesthetics,
long term durability, fire resistance and all with a low life cycle cost.
·
Hand-applied finish materials,
textures and aesthetic qualities unlike any other exterior wall cladding
material are possible and have only begun to be explored, which are
fully-capable of satisfying any aesthetic expression requirements.
·
Stucco has been the exterior wall
cladding of choice for generations and it can and will meet and exceed
ever-increasing challenges into the future.
·
As a wet plaster, essentially a
fluid-applied wall cladding, the most creative characteristic of stucco wall
cladding is to express the fluid, dynamic, undulating forms of contemporary
architecture, like no other wall cladding can. Planar surfaces are one thing,
three-dimensional, undulating curves are quite another.
·
Experimentation may allow stucco
cladding as screen walls, free-form and angular perforations, ornamental
decorative patterns such as sgraffitto and more.
The primary purpose of StuccoMetrics.com
is to be a sophisticated, technical resource of the most current, objective, relevant,
performance-oriented and reliable technical information addressing selected,
important, stucco-related topics not covered elsewhere, serving industry
professionals in the design, construction, manufacturing and regulatory
communities that concern themselves with stucco. The information presented here will
hopefully inspire you with the understanding of exterior stucco wall cladding
assemblies from a fresh new perspective.
It is the only known current stucco resource presented from an
architect’s viewpoint that discusses Minimum Stucco Industry Standards,
Minimum Stucco Standards of Care, and Stucco Best Practices. The essence of StuccoMetrics.com is to focus only on what is best for stucco
without other distractions; admittedly it is only one opinion among
many. Its bias is decidedly pro-stucco, and not exclusive towards
the designer, installer, product manufacturer or
inspection communities. If we work
together to emphasize what is best for stucco over our own personal bias,
then stucco will be successful and so will we.
Unlike
most other stucco resources, the secondary purpose of StuccoMetrics.com is to encourage the exploration of stucco
aesthetic expression including choices for the selection of stucco’s unlimited
palette of textural possibilities. StuccoMetrics.com encourages the
exploration and use of stucco as an aesthetic architectural feature as well
as durable wall cladding material that can result in a rich architectural
expression unlike any other wall cladding system. You may find it interesting to know that
portland cement was expressly invented to be an artificial stone for cladding
buildings. In addition to durability,
stone is one of the most aesthetically pleasing building materials known to
mankind and we can do much more with stucco than we presently do to capture
the finer aesthetics of stone, interpreted and expressed, in the unique
vocabulary of stucco. Some will want
to use stucco to emulate a very ‘stone-like’ aesthetic. Others will want to express stucco with
more integrity that capitalizes on the aesthetics of what stucco is on its
own merits and not try to emulate something it is not. While even the best quality stucco may not
fully achieve all of the outstanding attributes and qualities of natural
stone, stucco shares many of stones’ finer characteristics and improves on
many of them. The intrinsic physical
qualities of stucco have few if any variations – durability, weather
resistance, fire resistance, abuse resistance, and low initial life cycle and
maintenance costs. In certain respects
stucco has superior characteristics to stone – such as its ease of conforming
to a buildings’ articulated and curvilinear surfaces, its low initial installation
cost, low long term maintenance cost, it is easy to suspend overhead, and is
easily modified during building renovations.
In these and other respects we recognize that stucco is a premier wall
cladding material – be encouraged to explore its attributes advantageously.
Cruising
through the links on StuccoMetrics.com
you will find detailed information and suggestions here and nowhere
else. This website approaches stucco
with a new perspectives based on research, testing and practical necessity
such as:
·
Minimum Stucco Industry Standards
·
Essential Stucco Principles
·
Stucco as a System, Assemblies,
Subassemblies and Components
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Stucco finish coat texture
gallery
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Stucco movement joints
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Stucco crack typologies
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Stucco shop drawings: Merging the art and craft of stucco
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Stucco and Sealant
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Stucco Best Practices
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Website links to stucco products
and manufacturers
·
Website links to stucco
organizations
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StuccoMetrics Reference Archive
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StuccoMetrics.com
Stucco Essentials Suggested Reading List
·
And more…
Careful
review of the information presented here to some, may reveal nothing new and
is already your everyday practice. To
others, it may be at least partially if not completely new, and you are asked
to have an open mind, ask questions, and thoughtfully consider how this new
information may benefit stucco from the way you normally practice. Challenging topics are addressed clearly
and comprehensively and complex topics are simplified. The information presented is the collective
knowledge and perspectives from a wide range of industry resources throughout
time. Most of what you will find here
is not really new it has just been hidden away, overlooked, suppressed,
misplaced and sometimes misunderstood.
I hope you will recognize that the information here is based on the
collective facts, research and experiences of many of the industry’s most
authoritative and reliable sources, is not merely one person’s opinion, and
that you will find it interesting and useful so that your use and experiences
with stucco will benefit. Identified
references have been selected based on their authority as it relates to the
stucco industry. References such as
the building code, Minimum Stucco Industry Standards, and major stucco
product manufacturer sectors and their organizations, are the primary
resources relied upon to be objective and authoritative. A significant volume of other stucco
industry resources are available that are not discussed. These resources, while many may have morsels
of wisdom, may be less objective, are not legally binding requirements, may
contain conflicts with themselves or conflicts with more authoritative
resources, or may simply be subjective and opinion-based without
substantiation. The emphasis is on
understanding the larger context and interrelationships pertaining to stucco,
and to become familiar with the best quality stucco information
available. Refrain from the natural
tendency to isolate discrete items that may be influenced by personal bias or
may be misconstrued or misinterpreted out of context - which may be isolated
anomalies and not systemic conditions.
The approach here is that there are no conflicts regarding stucco,
only conflicts in mutual understanding, from a lack of complete knowledge and
assimilation of the larger context and interrelationships of its parts.
Ostensibly,
you will notice that some of the concepts and terminology used on StuccoMetrics.com are unconventional,
and hopefully you will come to regard them as helpful and meaningful as they
are intended. In some instances
terminology in common use does not clearly describe the function of certain
stucco elements and new terms such as Building Movement Joint Subassembly
(BMJS) and Shrinkage Movement Joint Subassembly (SMJS) are intended to not
only identify, but to more clearly and intuitively describe the function of
these subassemblies. These and other
acronyms used here are further intended to be useful as a descriptive
identifier for architectural detailing and specifications to identify stucco
assemblies, subassemblies and components.
These terms have been used privately for a while now and have been
found to be useful in the way stucco assemblies, subassemblies and components
are viewed, understood and interpreted.
Correctly designing, specifying, installing, inspecting and evaluating
stucco systems can be a daunting and complicated process and this terminology
system is hoped to make it easier for others, so they are shared here, in the
hopes they may be helpful to you.
The Wigwam Motel, 1949
San Bernardino, CA
Everywhere
one looks stucco is abundant, but all stucco is not the same. Minimum quality exterior stucco wall
cladding assemblies have different material and performance characteristics
than stucco wall cladding assemblies of superior quality. Stucco cladding systems and their
components are not perfect solutions in every respect, but they can satisfy reasonable
expectations. StuccoMetrics.com presents significant stucco information and
research not readily available elsewhere with detailed references for those
that want to research further. It is a
commentary encouraging the careful selection, specification and use of sound
and proven stucco materials and practices.
It purposes to proactively inform industry professionals about stucco,
to avoid design, construction, manufacturing and inspection errors that can
cause disappointments, misunderstandings, marginal performance and failures
with stucco, and to hopefully reduce stucco-related litigation.
X
is not the first letter of any word that fits elegantly into a discussion
about stucco, but it can represent an important check box on a checklist regarding
stucco wall cladding design, material quality, construction and
inspection. With resourceful attention
to good quality detailing, material specification, workmanship and quality
control, stucco can easily be serviceable for the life of any building in any
climate or geographic location. Stucco
is a beneficial exterior wall cladding from the sunbelt to the snowbelt, throughout many parts of the world. Stucco’s worst enemy is our own lack of
knowledge of its technological requirements and limitations, and our schedule
and cost driven manufacturing and construction culture that precludes us from
doing whatever is reasonably necessary to assure that stucco is successful,
all of which are within our control.
Considerable
advances in the design process and construction delivery methods already in
the marketplace have led to preferences by an increasing number of building
owners and architects for alternative stucco and exterior wall system
procurement and delivery methods such as design/build, fast track design and
construction methods that expedite the design and delivery process and
facilitate quality control. Entire
exterior wall systems and their claddings can be delivered turnkey by
specialist design professionals and exterior wall contractor design/build
collaborations utilizing shop drawings for increased quality and optimized
coordination, economics and installation.
One stop shopping from the architect’s design development package to
the constructed wall system is advantageous to everyone involved. That day is now for those who want the best
exterior wall systems available.
Every
reader has a different perspective and StuccoMetrics.com
cannot be all things to all people in all circumstances and has limitations
in scope. Working together, stucco can and will advance and
proliferate into the future. Together,
we can explore and develop ways and methods to make stucco the premier
exterior wall cladding system of choice and to find effective means to
address its challenges – especially cracking and water-related
conditions. Going forward, let us as
stucco industry colleagues collectively strive to assure that stucco succeeds
by achieving its highest potential, and in turn it will serve us without
compromise or disappointment.
Lots
of other stucco resources exist, but none are quite like this place. StuccoMetrics.com
is a work in progress and your patience is requested as it grows over
time. The selected topics presented
here are but a few examples of many important topics that require consideration
for the effective use of stucco, such as substrates and lathing, drainage
subassemblies, continuous insulation, extruded aluminum terminations (EAT),
low slope surfaces, the range of topics related to finishes and much more. StuccoMetrics.com
has been developed, tested and used for several years privately already and a
resource like this is rarely ever complete, so please contact me in the
interim with any stucco questions you may have. StuccoMetrics.com
can be conveniently accessed from your mobile device also so you can get
information from any location or device with internet access – at the office,
in the studio, on the jobsite or the manufacturing plant. This resource is available at no cost or
obligation to any party and is entirely privately maintained with no paid
contributions accepted from any source to preserve its objectivity and
integrity.
Limitations
of any kind are merely future opportunities.
Not all stucco topics are discussed or presented due to time and
resource limitations. Color choices
are ephemeral and are not addressed.
The water-resistive barrier (WRB) system, drainage and flashings, wall
openings and penetrations etcetera – as critical as these are to an exterior
wall cladding system - are not the central focus of StuccoMetrics.com and only receive passing attention to the
extent they relate to the stucco wall cladding system. It is hoped that many more topics will be
added to StuccoMetrics.com as
opportunities to expand StuccoMetrics.com
allow.
Each
person, by accessing StuccoMetrics.com
is responsible to use every available means of personal and professional
discretion when utilizing the StuccoMetrics.com
information presented. StuccoMetrics.com, its authors and referenced
sources have no control over and assume no responsibility or liability for
the information accumulated here, whether authored by us or others, its use
or implementation, including adverse residual or collateral effects, real or
imagined, for any consequential damages to any party or property, or for your
safety programs, all of which are the readers sole responsibility. Caveat
Emptor. Every reasonable effort
has been given to assure the accuracy and objectivity of the information
presented but there is no guarantee.
Every reasonable effort has been made to give proper attribution to
contributors and sources for the information presented where it is not
original material, and to respect copyrights and trademarks. If sources were unintentionally overlooked
or other errors mistakenly made, please contact me for immediate resolution.
Nothing
on StuccoMetrics.com
shall be construed as
anything more than general suggestions made with good intent, are not
intended for any specific stucco application, shall
not be considered as recommendations that apply to any specific project or
application, professional counsel or advice, and may or may not be applicable
to every circumstance. We may
not agree on every point and that is both respected and accepted as reality
and professional courtesy.
Comments
and suggestions are welcomed for how StuccoMetrics.com
content may be improved and attribution will be given to anyone who submits
content that improves this stucco resource.
StuccoMetrics.com is
intended to be a vehicle for a two way conversation about stucco and it is
hoped that you will contact me to discuss even better stucco practices that
can be included here. If you will
share stucco information with me and I include it here, I will give you
attribution on StuccoMetrics.com.
Everything
else aside, the only absolute is that Minimum Stucco Industry Standards apply
in all circumstances, in all regions, to all exterior stucco wall cladding
assemblies. Consultation with licensed
and experienced stucco professionals is advised for any stucco-related
endeavor. Content will be periodically
expanded and updated as time allows, as products and practices change and as
new information becomes available, so please check back regularly.
September 2014
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