Who has done stucco treatment to fireplace?

2650 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by m1951mm, Jul 5, 2011

nativeiowan

Discussion Starter · Jun 25, 2011

Hello! I'm new to the DIY Chat but have been researching updating our late 1970ish ugly brick fireplace (which I had previously painted white) with a stucco finish.

Has anyone on here done this before? It says it is a moderately hard project…we've done our own tile laying in bathrooms, wood flooring installs, etc. so I'm not totally new to DIY projects.

The information I've been gathering says to use ready-to-use stucco mix. I'm having trouble finding this. Is it called something else? I found "stucco PATCH" in the paint section at Lowe's but in the ourdoor exterior building area it was all Quik-crete products related to concrete/cement. Do I use some combination of these to come up with a "stucco" material? If so, which ones?

Also, if anyone has done this project…any helpful hints as I get started? Did you feel this was a pretty do-able DIY project and were you happy with the results?

Thanks! And it's fun to join your community!

Jan

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user1007

· #2 · Jun 25, 2011

Unlikely a box store would carry pre-mixed stucco but a real building supply store should have it or be willing to get it for you. Mixing your own stucco is not a hard formula and you will want as much control over your colorants as possible.

Am I reading your post correctly? You are planning to stucco over an interior fireplace using the brick as the substrate/foundation for the stucco correct? You will fill in everything that is now brick with stucco?

Just a thought. Why not drywall or otherwise panel over the brick and texture that surface to match whatever you want? This approach would use a lot less material and you, or the next owner, could pull all apart if you tired of the look.

You might look into concrete mantels and fireplace facing too. A craftsman can crank out beautiful shapes and surfaces in whatever colors you might like. You can achieve a period formal look to ultra modern.

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paparocks

· #3 · Jun 29, 2011

The premixed stucco's will weather the heat better than a lowes or home depot dry mix. I prefer stucco's made by Acrocrete. You can google the name to find their website..... the website will give you the name of the closest distributor to you. I would suggest a base coat as well. Your brick is not a flat surface and putting a finish coat over the top of it would show the uneven surface beneath it. They also offer a full range of colors to choose from.
Being as you posted this question a few days ago, you're most likely finding it hard to find the premix and/or a distributor that will sell it to you. In some states you have to hold a certificate of application to even by it. Good luck
as for the drywall suggestion...I like it, but the cost of hiring a finisher or the aggravation of finishing it yourself then all the sanding may play spoiler. Stucco in my opinion is much easier to apply and get right without the sanding

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m1951mm

· #4 · Jul 5, 2011

I like the idea of installing drywall over the brick and then doing a stucco finish on that flat surface. Just how best to install the drywall would be my next question. Glue and screw to the brick??? This is not my area of expertise. IMHO the finishing of the drywall would not be that big of an issue since you will be doing a textured type of coating on the surface. You would just need to do a primer coat on the raw mud before applying texture. Sanding would really not be necessary except for the inside corners (a tape joint) on either side of the fireplace where it runs into the walls. I have done stucco look finishes with just drywall compound. Troweled on as if you were trowling thinset for tile application, but with a smooth trowel :wink:. I have also used products (Faux Tex and Soft Tex) from Faux Effects. You can mail order products from them if there is not a distributor near you. Both of those products are also troweled on. They can be colored in the bucket or once they have dried on the walls. I prefer doing the coloring after the product is on the walls. Glaze from Faux Like A Pro is the BEST, IMHO. Their glaze is the only one I have ever found that is dead flat, meaning it does not have a sheen of its own as most glazes do. You can color it with colorants, acrylic paints or just plain "flat" paint to keep the flat sheen. If you add semi gloss paint, you will get a sheen from that. I feel a stucco comes across best in a flat appearance.

In the Paint Treatments album on my picture sharing site (www.picturetrail.com/mickey51) you can see some examples of these products. I am not a salesperson for either company!!!!!!!!!! Just one who loves their product lines.

Good Luck

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