Chimney Stucco Repair
Take a look at this awesome before and after of a recent chimney repair. Over time, the stucco can begin to peel and break away from the structure; a stucco repair is the way to go.
Good workmanship and customer service
Reviewed on Customer Lobby
“Worldgate Plaster & Stucco was very responsive, they were willing to meet in person several times before the project and after. They were very responsive on email and he addressed any concerns I had. They did some replacing of stucco and did a great job.”
Justin O.
Ashburn, VA
12/28/2015
Complete Re-Stucco Job
After:
Hanging Outdoor Christmas Lights Without Drilling Holes in Concrete Stucco
It’s not Christmas without a twinkling display of lights around your house. Make the task of hanging outdoor lights easier with clips, hooks and adhesives designed for the job. This is especially useful when you can’t or don’t want to drill holes in stucco, brick or stone. Light clips and outdoor adhesives are available at home improvement stores. Once you’ve installed the clips you can use them over and over again in the years to come, so next year’s light-hanging job will go even faster.
Attaching Light Strings with Clips
- Measure the perimeter you want to decorate with lights, such as your home’s roof line, porch overhang or around window frames. Purchase enough light strings to comfortably cover this distance. Take into account the color pattern you plan to display, such as using only one color, alternating two colors or randomly mixing colors.
- Purchase a sufficient number of clips to cover this distance with one clip every 6 to 8 inches, depending on the type of lights you will be using. Bulb-type lights, known as C7 or C9 bulbs, use larger clips than mini-lights or icicle lights.
- Secure the clips, using outdoor adhesive, along the perimeter to be decorated. Follow product directions for applying the adhesive and allow sufficient time for the adhesive to cure.
- Test your light string to make sure there are no missing or burned-out bulbs. You can do this indoors by plugging the lights into an electric outlet. Replace bulbs as needed, then unplug the lights and take them outside.
- Arrange the lights along the line of clips, placing the cord in each clip as you go.
- Plug the light string into an outdoor outlet, using an extension cord if needed.
Attaching Light Strings with a Hot Glue Gun
- Measure the distance needed and unroll the light string. Check to make sure there are no missing or burned-out bulbs, and replace them if needed.
- Apply a line of hot glue along the side of the first bulb socket. Hold the glued side of the socket against the wall or overhang and keep it in place for several seconds to allow the glue to cool and set.
- Continue until all of the bulb sockets are glued in the desired positions. Use an outdoor extension cord so you can take the hot glue gun up on the ladder with you.
- Plug the light string into an outdoor socket. If you use the type of cord that you cut to your measure, apply a male socket to one end and a female socket to the other end before you do this.
Source: homeguides.sfgate.com
30+ Amazing Color Ideas for Your Home
Everything you’ve always wanted to know about paint color in one place. From how to choose a paint color for every room in your house to tips for maintaining the paint on your walls, we’ve got you covered. View the slideshow here!
Sound Reducing Coating for Concrete Block Walls
In noisy neighborhoods or big households, controlling the noise level in your home can be an issue. Fortunately, there are many options for home sound-reducing in a variety of price ranges to help you with this problem. Many sound-reducing coatings can adhere to concrete block walls, enabling you to easily convert a room like a basement to a useful space for practicing an instrument, watching movies and other activities that generate noise. Many of these options are simple enough to do yourself.
Paint
Sound-reducing paint is a suitable DIY option for controlling the noise level in a room made from concrete block walls. This is the least difficult option because sound-reducing paint is applied just like regular paint and is usually latex-based, cleaning up with soap and water. Sound-reducing paints are best used to control mid-range sounds, or normal levels of human speech. Most sound-reducing paints are designed for interior wall surfaces, such as drywall, so you may need to prime your walls before painting for best results.
Polyurethane
Polyurethanes and other resins with sound-reducing properties are available as coatings. As with sound-reducing paint, it is important to purchase a polyurethane designed specifically for sound-reduction. Polyurethanes and other resins adhere well to concrete surfaces and are noted for durability. Many can also be applied like wall paint. However, all resins require mixing two compounds, which then react to form the resin. This makes application difficult because time is an issue, and the fumes from applying resins can be dangerous.
Stucco
Stucco is a cement plaster normally used as a coating on the exterior of a home. However, the highly textured surface of stucco makes it an excellent choice for absorbing sound in a home. Stucco adheres well to concrete blocks and can be textured in a way to suit almost any decorative taste. However, this is a more challenging option and may require the help of a professional for best results.
Wallpaper
Some manufacturers make sound-reducing wallpapers, which are thicker than regular wallpaper and are highly insulated. While these are technically wallpapers, they can require special adhesives to attach to walls. There are many options for adhesives that also have sound-reducing qualities. It is important, however, to choose an adhesive that is designed to stick to concrete. In addition, sound-reducing wallpapers are often designed to be painted over or wallpapered over, so you are not limited by the colors provided by the manufacturer.
source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/sound-reducing-coating-concrete-block-walls-31323.html
Cracks in Stucco
It’s understandable that a homeowner will become upset when they see cracks forming on the outside of their beautiful home. Most experts agree that a few hairline cracks in the stucco finish are unavoidable most of the time. These cracks pose no threat to the home’s weatherproofing or structural strength. Many times, a tiny hairline crack is not even visible from several feet away.
What Defines a ‘Hairline’ Crack?
Many experts suggest that if you can’t insert a business card into the crack, that considers it a hairline. Though definitive, it’s still kind of an arbitrary measurement, especially when it’s your home. So what if you can just fit a business card into it? Is it automatically a problem crack then? Maybe not, but the odds of it becoming problematic go up as the width of the crack increases.
If you can easily insert a nickel in the crack, it is now beyond what would be considered normal cracking. Now it becomes important to understand why the stucco is cracking, because it may be a sign of more serious underlying problems. At this size it’s also not very pretty to look at and probably will not cause any other problems, as long as it is not growing. Whether something ought to be done about it probably hinges now on how many such cracks are present and where. It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on the crack and call in a professional if it begins to grow.
How Many Cracks are More than a Few?
This answer is not black and white either. If there are true hairline cracks, 6 or less in different locations around the home a stucco expert is probably not going to be too concerned. The more cracks you see forming, they get wider or longer, or the more they appear together, then it is more likely that your home is in need of professional stucco repair.
For a large crack, one you can insert a matchbook in, it’s serious and a professional should be called right away.
Extremely responsive from initial contact to completion
Worldgate Plaster & Stucco Reviewed on Customer Lobby – 09/09/2015
“We are getting ready to sell our home and we needed to have some EIFS repairs done to the exterior. In order to sell it we had to have an inspection done; and we needed the repairs prior to the inspection. The workers that came were courteous and efficient. They were also neat, and they cleaned up after themselves when they finished. Their work was very meticulous. Paul, their supervisor was very responsive and thorough. After the work was done he did a final inspection. The price that they charged me was good. I thought it was fair. Thanks to their repairs the home passed the inspection.”
-Patricia M.
Arlington, VA
Stucco in Theater Ostia Antica
This beautiful ancient theater is located in Ostia Antica, a large archaeological site that was once the location of harbor city in ancient Rome. The theater was built along the Decumanus Maximus – the main east-west orientated road.
Fragments of an inscription tell us that a first theater was built at the end of the first century BC by Agrippa, the right-hand man of Augustus (founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor). It could hold 3000 spectators. It was built together with a large square to the north, the Piazzale delle Corporazioni. The masonry of the present theater has been dated to the late second century AD. In that period the theater was enlarged, and could hold 4000 people. A large inscription from 196 AD tells us that this rebuilding was the work of Septimius Severus and Caracalla. Brick stamps however show that the work had been started by Commodus (176-192 AD).
Today, the theater is still in use for summer events.
source: http://www.ostia-antica.org/regio2/7/7-2.htm
Painting and White-Wash Stucco
Painting Stucco
The reason most homeowners paint over their stucco is because the cost of re-stucco is higher than just hiring a painter to paint over the existing stucco. Usually within 3 to 5 years, the paint starts to decay and peel. The home would either need re-painting or re-stuccoing. If re-stuccoing is desired, the surface needs sandblasting to remove the existing paint because it is an extra layer that would prohibit proper bonding of a new stucco coat.
White-Wash
Putting a “white-washed” finish on your stucco is similar to painting it. Also called a lime wash, the process is to apply a thin coat of lime powder mixed with water to the stucco. This creates a strong layer of colored limestone bonded to the stucco that doesn’t affect the breathability. This is good for an old-world look to a stucco home. Like paining, if re-stuccoing is desired, the surface would need sandblasting.
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Our Service Area
Worldgate Plaster & Stucco proudly services Northern VA and the surrounding area.
- Fairfax County, VA
- Loudoun County, VA
- Prince William County, VA
- Montgomery County, MD