ways to removing stucco
We are looking at a brownstone in Bed Stuy, we love it but the previous owner has stuccoed the walls and ceiling on the top floor. Any tips on removal / expense. Or is it just not worth the work? Thanks
We are looking at a brownstone in Bed Stuy, we love it but the previous owner has stuccoed the walls and ceiling on the top floor. Any tips on removal / expense. Or is it just not worth the work?
Thanks
Why anyone in their right mind would do it would be to hide the cracks in the plaster..it was an easy way out. You can remove the stucco with scraping, water and even coarse sanding. You can then reskim them with plaster for a nice smooth wall. OR you could be like the stucco person and take the easy way out and just cover the walls with sheet rock…..
Why anyone in their right mind would do it would be to hide the cracks in the plaster..it was an easy way out. You can remove the stucco with scraping, water and even coarse sanding. You can then reskim them with plaster for a nice smooth wall. OR you could be like the stucco person and take the easy way out and just cover the walls with sheet rock…..
I had this problem in a house I bought in Bed-Stuy. The stucco work had been applied right over the painted plaster wall. It took some elbow grease, but with a spray bottle of water and a putty knife I was able to scrape it off. The painted wall underneath was completely intact. Hopefully, your situation is similar.
I had this problem in a rental that I occupied some years ago. The landlord had applied sharp, pointy stucco to every wall and ceiling in the place- kitchen, bathroom, living, bedroom. The stucco was not cracked/falling apart and not too deeply textured (not like meringue), so I skim coated the walls with plaster, which worked just fine. I left the ceiling alone since that’s a tough job to do, and frankly it didn’tlook quite so horrible once the walls were smooth.
I’m having difficulty in understanding why anyone would have done that but, given its presence, I would try to ascertain the following. Has the stucco been applied on top of the original plaster or was it applied directly to the lath following removal of the original scratch coat and plaster coat (admittedly a scenario I would find inexplicable)? If the former, you’re probably screwed as 6:10 says but if the latter and it’s still stable (not soft and/or cracking), is not deeply textured (i.e. is reasonably smooth) and is of a thickness not substantially greater than that of the base coat on a typical lath and plaster wall, then you may be able to have someone come in and apply a top coat of smooth plaster over it. If this is possible it wouldn’t be cheap, however, but you would be adhering to the originality of the construction of the era much more than if you were to replace the walls with drywall construction. Obviously you cant be chopping out a section to investigate if you haven’t bought the house yet but looking at the planar relationship of the stucco and the baseboard and door frames (assuming those millwork items are original) might give you a clue to what’s going on.
no way to remove AND save the walls … 95% of the time must tear down and put up new drywall