Category: Stucco

Ideas for Exterior Siding Looks

3/6/2017

Question: I want to re-do my home’s exterior, where do I find inspiration and ideas for the new design?

Answer:

1. Look at your neighborhood Blend in with what the neighbors are doing, this will increase real estate value and prevent your house from looking like it doesn't fit in!

An example of this is in Headingly, Manitoba. Here you find a lot of new developments; many are newer luxury style neighbourhoods, made up of thoughtfully built homes situated on large lots. The exteriors in these neighbourhoods reflect their surroundings, for example, you see a lot of stone, and also more earth tones and natural patterns in the complementing stucco, to blend in with the country feel of the area.

Big and small are incorporating the same features, which ties the area together for a consistent look, possibly one reason why real estate is so high in Headingly!
I borrowed these photos from the MLS.com website. (www.mls.com)

If you live in a rural area and don’t have many neighbors, fit it in with the style of your yard like this for example, which reflects its natural woodsy surroundings

2. Look for pictures that inspire you, you can use Pinterest.com, which works kind of like a Google image search with lots of beautiful pictures, or cut things out from magazines, find new designs of home exteriors that you like. Even if your inspirational pictures aren't realistic for your house, keep them anyway, there might be a design element that you can fit into the design.

For example, in another blog post, I wrote about making a stone look affordable by limiting stone to just details, great for you if you love the look of stone. Read that blog post here.

3. Work with your house’s architectural features and shape. In another blog post, I talk about which stucco patterns are best for different types of houses. For example, Skip trowel pattern is good for walls that aren't pin straight, see that blog post here.

4. Just ask your friendly local stucco guy! I have a color chart with suggested color combinations, and can help you choose the best look for your home based on experience and the principles of this blog post.

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Acrylic vs. Traditional Stucco

1/15/2017

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Photo courtesy of Stellar homes

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.

Hope this helps!
Alex

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What Stucco Pattern is Right For You?

10/15/2015

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Which 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.

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Stucco and stone together, a custom look for less!

3/8/2013

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Whether building a new home in Winnipeg, or giving an older home’s exterior a new and modern look, incorporating stone into the siding of your house or garage adds a natural charm and timeless style.

Stone has traditionally been expensive, but in recent times artificial, or faux stone, has come a long way in looking more realistic, and has brought a much more affordable option to the market.

Three Ways to Make a stone exterior more affordable

1. Artificial, or faux, stone, has evolved into a stylish synthetic alternative to real stone, and costs roughly half the price of materials as real stone. Here are some pictures to show some different looks that can be achieved with synthetic stone.

2. Some builders choose to do just the front wall of a house in stone, and do the rest of the walls in another material, such as stucco, to save costs while maximizing curb appeal. But for even greater savings, a stylish effect can still be achieved using stone, either real or artificial, on just some details of the house. For example, on pillars, or to highlight a feature of the house structure. This is a way to keep the great look of a stone and stucco combination, but save dramatically on cost. Have a look at the photos below to see some examples I like:

3. Get your stucco and stone detail done in one place! Amill offers stucco with stone details in the same contract, saving you money on contractors, hours, and materials. If you’re thinking about getting your house stuccoed and wonder if you can fit stone details into your plan, just ask for a free quote.

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Alex Miller

Alex is the owner and proprietor of Amill Stucco and Renovations, a small, high quality stucco company based just North of Winnipeg, serving Selkirk, Oakbank, Beausejour, Winnipeg, and surrounding areas in rural Manitoba.
He is also a handyman at home, where something always needs to be updated or built, on his acreage North of Winnipeg.