These are the guys from Reynolds Construction that are doing our beautiful stucco work.
Rusty and Richard the two principals are on the left talking to Myron and Sean, on the right, is running the crew. Wikipedia does a vastly better job than I could of explaining the 3 coat Stucco process. At first it seemed an odd and very traditional choice for exterior cladding on our very contemporary house but we came to it when looking for a natural material that was very monolithic looking. All of the panel materials being used now all give seams and I was trying to get away from that. I had seen some beautiful cedar and stucco houses by architect Robert Swatt who had a very strong influence on me when we were designing our house. I think stucco and cedar are a great combination. Here are the metal lath on the main pod and then the scratch coat on the guest pod.
There is a lot of singing going on on this installation team!
The left panel here is our first look at the final finish coat for color approval (Mortar is the color name). The section to the right is the second coat. I love the color. Ellen, who was lobbying for something close to the color of winter beech leaves was less sanguine.
We do have some strategically placed expansion joints to avoid cracking but I don't think they detract too much from the uniform look of the surface.
We are waiting for the final round of windows to be installed on the north of the main pod and the east of the guest pod to complete the stucco work. All of the stucco soffits are already done.
It is counterintuitive to welcome insecurity as a sign that something good is beginning. I have never greeted it as a friend. But I know that that is where the work is done, and that premature comfort is a pretty good sign that nothing much is happening.
Sean Kernan