It’s fascinating how travel can teach new things and help put your daily life into perspective. Such has been the case with my recent five-day trip to the Rocky Mountains of Montana.
For example, driving south through the Gallatin River canyon, I couldn’t help but reflect on the permanence of rock.
The concept of building with rock — or man-made rock — is nothing new. As the fable of the Three Little Pigs taught, stone and masonry hold up under conditions where lesser building materials such as straw and wood may not.
Travel to Europe and you will see that much of its residential construction is done in stone, brick and stucco.
Europeans learned long ago that cement stucco, a man-made rock material, is both durable and attractive. Truth be told, in many parts of Europe, builders have little choice when it comes to wood: They used up much, if not all, of their forest land hundreds of years ago.
You might have more choices when building your own new home, but I recommend you give rock serious consideration. You don’t have to travel to Montana, Colorado or even Europe to see how durable and beautiful it can be.
You only have to take an hour or two and drive around some of the older, well-established neighborhoods of Chicago. If you do, you’ll discover quite a few cement stucco homes in a range of styles, as well as homes that use stucco on only a part of the exterior.
Cement stucco is an amazing material for a number of reasons. For one, it is incredibly strong. A well-built stucco home can easily last hundreds of years. Stucco can add both value and character to your new home.
Permanent pigments can be added to cement stucco as it is mixed, so that it never needs to be painted. The stucco mason can build several test panels to show you what the cured, colored stucco looks like when totally dry.
You can whitewash stucco to create a cottage look. Whitewashing is simple to do, and the look is unlike anything you have seen in a long time.
Or you can simply leave stucco natural and let it achieve a patina over time.
Used with modern windows and doors, a stucco home can block those howling winter winds that suck heated air from your home. The stucco finish is a fantastic wind barrier, yet it easily transmits water vapor that can cause mold to grow, unlike so many wall systems that do not readily allow water to migrate to the atmosphere.
If you hire a talented builder and a talented stucco mason, you will have an infinite amount of stucco textures and patterns from which to choose.
Note the classic styles as you drive around neighborhoods. Be sure to take photographs of stucco textures you love. Often, if you knock on the door and tell a homeowner what you’re doing, the resident will allow you to take close-up shots of the house. Your interest in the home often brings out the owner’s pride.
If you decide to paint, it is critical that you let the new stucco cure for a period of time.
It can take three months or more for the stucco to release most or all of its moisture. If you paint before the stucco is fully cured, the new paint job may peel in short order.
The safest route may be to wait six or even nine months to paint. Be sure to use the primers recommended by the top coat paint manufacturer.
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Write to Tim Carter, c/o the Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 36352, Cincinnati, OH 45236-0352. Or contact him on the Internet at askthebuilder.com.
You can call him any Saturday from 5 to 6 a.m. at 1-513-749-1035.
Look for Tim Carter’s Ask the Contractor column weekly in the Your Place section.
