Any ideas on how to texture existing exterior painted block walls here in Orlando FL?

Question

Blocks are painted and in good shape but I want to add lite texture to simulate the stucco look.

Trina M · Answer

I really would like to know too. I'm not a big fan of the prison wall look. :P

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Steve, no paint is thick or textured enough to make a noticeable difference.  All I know to do is call a stucco company and look at the many finishes they offer.  I know of no homeowner fix unless you wanted to buy the stucco and roll it on yourself.
Best, Charles

Steve · Answer

Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas. I'm now looking at DAP ALL-PURPOSE STUCCO PATCH...thinking 1st to fill joints and small holes and let dry...then trowel 1/8' (or thinner) patch mix over all area...then paint after it dries. What do you think about this idea???

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Great idea!  You will probably need to apply two thin coats of patch over the joints to make sure they don't show through.
The recommend paint for stucco is two coats of elastomeric, a thick waterproofing paint. 
CP

Steve · Answer

Thanks CP... I'm still looking for specifice product folks may know of designed to apply directly over painted block wall creating a lite stucco appearance...agree w/ Trina, the plain block-wall-look needs a face-lift !!!
ANY MORE IDEAS OUT THERE ???

AA Marble & Granite, LLC · Answer

You could do outside, what I did inside.  You are on the right path.  I would get the concrete patch (available alongside the Dri-dex interior patch in the paint dept) in a plastic tub and trowel it on.  Let it dry and paint it.  You will need to do the whole wall yourself because it is like a signature.  No two people will trowel it on the same. Test it on a concrete block if you need, but you don't, just start troweling and it will fill the cracks and be just fine, you'll see.
It is an amazing look!

HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC · Answer

We've added stucco over to a number of basement walls over the years.  There is a 'stucco' pre-mix we used a couple of times but I can't remember the name.  The problem here may be that the walls were pre-painted.  Scrape the walls first and clean with some TSP water mix.

I wouldn't use the DAP stuff for this.  You can use the pre-blended mortar mix and mix up batches in a 5-gallon bucket.  Use the regular dry time bags.  You probably also want to add Admix (an adhesion additive) to the mix to help with bonding.  Fill your joints in first with the same mix.  Make certain the mix is well blended and you can use a drill with a metal joint compound mixer on the end of it. You should mix it to the consistency of mashed potatoes.   You can also add some wall paint into the mix to tint the stucco mix.  Works pretty well actually.

Use a spray bottle to lightly wet the portion of wall you are working on.  This all is fairly labor intensive but easy enough to do.  Hand trowel the mix onto the wall with about a 2' to 3' plastering motion.  Use thin coats and don't worry about voids.  Between coats, you can lightly go over the stucco with a sponge trowel in a light circular motion to fill in any voids.  The cool thing about stucco is it's your wall so you get to make it look the way you wants.  You can also throw some mix from the trowel straight at the wall to rough it up a bit.

Find a local masonry supplier and visit their store for supplies and advice. They also have the adhesion additives (Admix) in qt & gallon bottles.  The big boxes will be light in this.  Have fun!

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Also, your local Sher-Wms paint store carries H&C concrete products with numerous texture applications.  They can advise you on application.
CP

Sharon A · Answer

Check with your local Painting Store...there are products that have a 'sand' base in them that will give a slight stucco look to them.

Steve · Answer

Thanks soooo much for all the replies/input/ideas.  I've completed a  test area and it looks/seems to be working good: 1st cleaned wall with 50% bleach solution and power-washed, 2nd applied Dap Phenomenal Brands Pre-Mixed Stucco Patch from HomeDepot ($20/gal) on mortar joints/holes, 3rd applied thin coat of Dap All-Purpose Stucco Patch, again from HomeDepot ($15 for 25lb bag of powdered mix).  This somewhat simple process to me is still very labor intensive and costly...but...no comparison to applying metal lathe/conventional stuccoing.  I wish the builder would have applied 1/4' concrete/stucco mix to all exterior raw block-walls initially like he did on the front of house !!!  PLEASE let me know what you think of my procedure and/or other possible SPECIFIC PRODUCTS you think might better do the trick stuccoing over painted block walls... thanks again for all your ideas... Steve :)

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Post a pic if you can Steve.  What an improvement it will be.
CP

Steve · Answer

On the right side of pic no fill of joints, just powder mix applied...on the left, joints pre-filled (as discribed in previous post) then thin powder stucco mix applied...next I need to  work on pattern...but for this test I was looking at coverage/adhesion.
Please let me know what You-All think...and, thanks again for all of HomeTalk folk's feed-back... Steve :)

Steve · Answer

Hope you can see details in my pic... Steve :)

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

You will probably need more joint filling.  You want the joints to be completely filled before any texturing starts.
You're on to something there, it's going to look really nice.
Chas.

Steve · Answer

Thanks Chas...I agree...now that the test area showed good adhesion over the painted blocks I now plan to: 1. clean and powerwash all blocks;  2. fill tooled joints/holes w/ 2coats of pre-mixed stucco patch (instead of 1coat like I did on some of test area); 3. trowel on (using a mason's sponge trowel) a bit thicker 1/8'' texturing coat of powder mix.  This process for me is still a bit pricy and very-labor-intensive, but I think the cost/effort will pay-off with 'sweet-lookin-finished' walls. I will shoot before and after pics and post-em to let folks know how it went.  Thanks again to alllllll U-folks out there for your help!!!  And for all you new folks who may come across this thread, let me know what you think, and any ideas you have to stucco over existing painted block walls... Steve :-)

HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC · Answer

Hi Steve - as you are prepping.....get some TSP and sprinkle some in your cleaning mix...wear rubber gloves.....bleach alone will only knock down any existing mold....it won't kill it off as TSP combined will.  It's not as important as you have a cinderblock house and I don't think mold can live under the stucco mix like it can under paint.  Not sure it would ever be a problem with your project...but better safe than sorry.  You can get TSP in the paint department of lowes or depot

Steve · Answer

Thanks HandyAndy... do I just add TSP to my 50/50 bleach solution???
You folks here on HomeTalk are great (just like I heard spoke of on the radio where I first heard of this great site) !!!

Trina M · Answer

Steve, After I'm done with the interior renovations in my money pit... I mean fixer upper... I'm going to use the same techniques you did on my block walls. It's looking good. Make sure to post some before and after photos. :)

Steve · Answer

I know Trina what U-mean on 'money-pit' term...and the time invovled, WoOoOoW...I'm making slow progress though...will post pics and let U-all know how the process went... Just bought two sponge trowels last night for applying dry-mix stucco finish coat. Thinking it will take me a few weeks but will continue checking back to see others comments...
'Keep UrTools Sharp -N- Ur Determination Strong' all-U HomeTalk Geniuses ... Steve :-)

Steve · Answer

Here's an up-date... I have a hiccup in my plan stuccoing over painted block exterior walls.  I'm not happy with the adhesion of 'Dap All-Purpose Stucco Patch' from HomeDepot @$15 for 25lb bag of powdered mix.  Power-washed it off my test area (it came off too easy for my comfort level of adhesion)!!!  I now plan to use 'Dap Phenomenal Brands Pre-Mixed Stucco Patch' from HomeDepot @$20/gal for the final 1/8'' thick stucco-look texture. This Pre-Mixed stuff is what I'm using to fill tooled joints/holes and has super adhesion (held tight when testing it's adhesion using power-washer 3000psi approx. 12' from surface).  I'll keep U-all up-dated with pics and results as I slowly make progress. Thanks again for all you HomeTalk folks across the country... Steve :)

Steve · Answer

I'm back again...still working on applying Pre-Mixed Stucco Patch...it takes a lot of time to apply but I'm happy with the results...please see before and after pics.  Will need to apply a 2nd thin coat...then on to applying thin stucco texture using same Dap product.  Thanks again to all of the ideas you all have posted... Steve :-)

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

yeah Steve, clearly you are on the track.
CP

Pam · Answer

Add some sand to your paint before painting. Mix well and paint.

Steve · Answer

Thanks Pam... I have never done that... does that effect long-term adhesion???  I've applied silica sand, portland, & masonry cement mix to new block walls as a texture which worked out very well... any ideas out there on adding sand to paint as a means to add texture???  I'm always open to learning more on proven construction practices... Steve :)

Pam · Answer

I've added the sand directly to the paint, mixed well, and painted on for texture on craft woodwork for out side. I have not noticed that it affects the adhesion over the long haul.

Steve · Answer

I'm back to give an up-date to all of you following this thread... it's been a slow and labor intensive process... I'm trying to upload my latest pics but can't get latest adobe flash player to work... please let me know if you have any ideas how to post my latest stucco pics... Steve

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Sounds like a battle with both adobes, hehe

Steve · Answer

Got U on that one CP (it was pain 4-sure)... I'll try this again...fingers crossed...
Making slooooow progress... results I feel are 'GREAT' ... bunch more to do on texturing and then final painting... let me know what Ya think...Pics are in progression... thanks...Steve :)

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

What a transformation.
That's a job for a crew of people.
A labor of love that you will enjoy the fruit of from now on.
It's looking good so far.

Steve · Answer

Thanks Chas...I'm still laughing from your joke on 'problems with both of my adobes' !!!  Here's the latest up-date on my successful steps of procedures: 
To fully hide the block mortar joints I applied 2 coats of Dap Pre-Mixed Stucco Patch using 2' putty knife.  Then mixed 1gal of exterior primmer + 1gal Dap Pre-Mixed Stucco Patch + 1gal pool filter sand and applied 3rd coat over mortar joints (feathering all edges 2' from joint) using 6' tape knife.  Then for the final texturing applied the same 1+1+1 mix using small sponge trowel.  For a uniform textured look I learned to always apply working from a wet edge.  The mix sets up fairly fast when applied and if you over-work-it when its too dry the look suffers.  
Lots of work, but the look...'WOW' !!!!!  I'm still applying texture to remaining exterior walls, then I'll paint. ((will post more pics as I go)...Please post any ideas or comments or questions... I've learned sooooo much from all-U-HomeTalk-Folks... Thanks Steve :)

Any ideas on how to texture existing exterior painted block walls here in Orlando FL?

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Any ideas on how to texture existing exterior painted block walls here in Orlando FL?

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