April 23, 2023

Scratch-Coat of Stucco on South-Facing Wall

The scratch-coat* of Stucco on South-facing wall is complete and I now will begin working my way around the East-facing wall. With less windows to work around, more familiar with the the properties of stucco and crafting a rhythm to the rendering's application to the wall, I should be able to apply the material with increasing speed without sacrificing attention to detail.


 * Note: The scratch coat is basically the first layer of stucco applied to the building's wall material; in this case Cob (straw-clay).  The word 'Scratch' refers to horizontal 'scratch' lines made in the stucco after when still wet.  The scratched surfaces allow the second final (color) coat to 'lock-into' these grooves in the scratch coat and thus creating a stronger bond.    The building was wrapped in chicken-wire prior to the stucco application (see previous recent blog posts), to ensure the stucco's retention to the cob wall.

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