<![CDATA[Amill Stucco and Renovations

<![CDATA[Amill Stucco and Renovations - Home Tips Blog]]>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:10:52 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Acrylic vs. Traditional Stucco]]>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:18:48 -0800http://www.amillstucco.com/1/post/2011/01/acrylic-vs-traditional-stucco.html

A few key differences between Acrylic and Traditional Stucco made simple

You might be thinking about getting acrylic stucco on the side of your home or business this year. Or, maybe you’re just wondering what the heck acrylic stucco is.

Amill Stucco & Renovations does both traditional and acrylic stucco.

Here are some simple definitions of traditional stucco, acrylic, and the main differences between the two.

What is traditional stucco?

Stucco is a coating for walls, ceilings, and decorations. Made up mostly of cement, sand, and water, it goes on wet and hardens into a pattern over wood framing or less visually appealing materials such as concrete, cinder block, or clay brick.

Stucco is durable, rot and fungus resistant, low-cost and long-lasting, with no maintenance. It is an excellent sealant to keep rodents and destructive creatures out.

It is also fire resistant, stylish, and can be dyed in a variety of colors.

What is acrylic/synthetic stucco?

Acrylic stucco is a synthetic alternative to traditional stucco. It is newer, comes in a wider variety of colors, (actually any colour) and to some, has a more modern look. It looks especially modern on business and office buildings.

Amill Stucco only applies synthetic stucco as a finish coat, after two layers of traditional stucco, so that it has all the reliability and sealing benefits of traditional stucco.

Benefits of Acrylic over Traditional Stucco

Acrylic Stucco comes in any colour you want, making it an exciting exterior for businesses. Traditional stucco colours are more limited. Ask to see my colour chart!

Acrylic Stucco is much better for darker colours, as it attains and retains the dark tones better than traditional.

Drawbacks of Acrylic over Traditional Stucco

You have less patterns to choose from in Acrylic Stucco. The most popular patterns are float and skip trowel patterns. (See, “Which Stucco Pattern is Right for You?”) Traditional Stucco comes in a very wide variety of patterns.

Other Differences

Acrylic stucco dries more quickly, like paint, while traditional stucco dries by curing, meaning that the moisture slowly leaves the material. Either way, dry weather above freezing temperatures is ideal during application.

Hopefully this blog post has cleared some things up. If you have any questions, or are interested in getting acrylic or traditional stucco done, just contact me through this website.

Happy Renovating! Alex

]]><![CDATA[What Stucco Pattern is Right For You?]]>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:30:15 -0800http://www.amillstucco.com/1/post/2010/11/what-stucco-pattern-is-right-for-you.htmlWhich Stucco Pattern is Right For You?
When you decide to stucco your house or garage, the first thing you might be thinking about is colour, but another important consideration is pattern. Stucco comes in several different patterns, and different patterns work best in different situations.

Here are a few tips to figure out which pattern is best for you:

Popcorn Dash
This basic design is the most popular, and has been for decades because it works for just about any house or building. It is also a more economical option as it takes less time to do.

This pattern is also usually used for the parging, (the bottom few feet o f the wall) even if another pattern is used for the rest of the house.

KNOCK-DOWN DASH
A more modern take on the popcorn dash, this style appears smoother, because it’s flattened. You will see this finish more in new development neighborhoods, and the house appears smoother and cleaner. Also, if you have kids scraping against the walls of your house, they won’t get scratched by this!

Be warned though, if your walls aren’t perfectly straight, or have humps or waves in it from the framing, this pattern tends to show these flaws, and you’re better off going with a popcorn dash or a trowel design.

TROWEL DESIGN, AKA SKIP TROWEL
This pattern really stands out on a house, because of its uniquely natural looking design.

Originally used for detail work, it is becoming increasingly popular to do an entire house in this design because of its organic look and feel.

This pattern does by far the best job at masking flaws in a house, such as bumps or crooked framing. This is because it has a natural look that blends beautifully into any style of structure.

FLOAT FINISH
A Float Finish is a flat pattern of stucco used for detail work, such as pillars, arches like in this photo, window frames, and other accents.

It is great for these details because it complements other patterns of stucco very nicely.

Flatter than all other patterns, it gives a smooth, elegant look that really highlights details. Like all patterns, the Float Finish can be dyed any stucco colour.

There are other stucco patterns out there, but I chose to omit the ones that are really out of style these days. I can, however, match other styles of stucco that you might not see in this blog post; just ask!

Another thing to remember is that you are never limited to just one pattern. It is typical to mix them up, and often people will choose one pattern for the main parts of the house, and a different pattern for detail work, such as arches or pillars.

Except for the “Float” finish, which is really just used for detail work.

]]><![CDATA[Don't Forget the Deadline!]]>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:21:13 -0800http://www.amillstucco.com/1/post/2010/11/dont-forget-the-deadline.htmlOriginally published January 2010

Just a quick reminder to everyone that the Renovation Tax Credit will apply to eligible home renovation costs for work performed until February 1, 2010. It can be claimed in addition to support from the existing ecoENERGY Retrofit program! Happy New Year!]]><![CDATA[Why You Should Install a Dimmer (In just 5 steps)]]>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:20:13 -0800http://www.amillstucco.com/1/post/2010/11/why-you-should-install-a-dimmer-in-just-5-steps.htmlOriginally published January 2010

With Manitoba Hydro rates set to go up, it’s a good idea to make your home more energy efficient.

For some, this means swapping out all your light bulbs for high efficiency CFLs. Before you make that switch, consider putting on a dimmer instead. If you already have CFLs, you might want to switch them for regular bulbs with a dimmer switch.

Why?

Energy. A regular bulb that is dimmed to low power can use less energy than a CFL bulb.

Health. CFLs are not recommended in the bedroom, because they have been correlated with headaches, health concerns, and in extreme cases, cancer. In my opinion, that means that they shouldn’t be in other rooms either. Regular light bulbs have not been known to pose any health risks that I’m aware of.

Ambience. Proper lighting can change the look and feel of a room. With a dimmer, you can go from working-in-the-kitchen-bright to evening-appetizers-glow with the slide of a switch. It can work wonders on a bathroom, whether you want a soft light glowing overnight when guests are staying, or a candlelight effect during a party. Dimmed lighting is also much more flattering on skin than overhead fluorescents.

The good news? It’s easy and inexpensive to do! All you need to do is head to your nearest hardware store and pick up a dimmer kit, which includes everything you need except the screwdriver. It will set you back between $ 5-$ 20. Just follow my 5 easy steps and you can have better lighting in an hour!

If you have high efficiency CFL lights, the first step is to replace them with regular light bulbs. The CFL’s won’t dim, and even if they did the light would not look attractive. Having a regular bulb dimmed can save more energy than a CFL light!

5 EASY STEPS

1. Turn off power to the area. This will save you from a nasty shock! This is done at the fuse panel or main source of power.

2. Take off the switch cover by removing the top and bottom screws

3. Unscrew the top and bottom screws to take the switch out of the wall and expose the wires.

4. Disconnect the switch from the wires. Make sure the wires do not touch!
Connect the new dimmer switch by twisting together to connect the wires; black to black, white to white green to green.

Use the yellow wire insulators, like the ones in the picture below (they come with the dimmer kit), to secure the black and white wire tips; you will end up screwing them in.

The green wire is your grounding wire in most cases, which you attach to the screw inside the wall.

5. Put screws back in and put the switch cover back on.

Enjoy your upgraded lighting!
A nice touch for every room!

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