Applying stucco, also referred to as "plastering," has been referred to as the "world's second oldest profession." Although that may be said jokingly, stucco finishes do have a long and glorious history. And stucco jobs that are more than 5,000 years old can still today be evidenced in the pyramids of Egypt..
Stucco refers to applying a cementitious coating onto a substrate usually with a hawk and trowel. A trowel is a wide flat rectangular hand held "knife with a handle" onto which the "mud" is applied and carried to the surface. The hawk is a flat surface with a handle usually held in the other hand from which the trowel obtains its supply. Application mechanics use the trowel to smeared the stucco product onto the surface of the substrate, and then to smooth the material and texture it. Applying stucco to a surface is not unlike icing a cake.
Stucco can be made from a number of different materials. In prehistoric days, stucco was usually made from materials at hand, such as mud and straw. Today's stucco materials are mainly sand and portland cement, or gypsum plaster. Cement based products are generally applied on exterior walls, gypsum based plaster is generally applied on interior walls. Technically the application both exterior stucco and interior plaster are both referred to as "plastering."
Stucco and/or plaster can be painted, or impregnated with color. The fresco paintings on the ceiling of the Cistine Chapel in Rome that were done by Michangelo almost 500 years ago are technically colored stucco. The interior and exteriors of the Egyptian pyramids and tombs were stuccoed. The adobe missions of the Southwest also constitute a stucco-type finish.
Stucco is a very prevalent exterior wall coating in many areas of the United States. Properly applied, stucco provides a water-tight exterior wall surface that will stand up to the rigors of time and the elements.
Modern day stucco includes the exterior insulated finish system or EIFS which provides architects and designers with one of the most amazing design and decorative building materials known to modern man.
One of the beauties of stucco is its ability to accept a variety of textures. Through the use of various textures, stucco surfaces can be given a personality of their own. Textures also have a profound affect on the perception of the color of a stucco surface, because as light hits a textured surface, it can affect the perception of the surface's coloring.
