Spring is here so everyone is looking for jobs to do around the house. As a friend of ours was working on their front porch doing some landscaping they found a hole in the stucco that was applied to the wrap around skirting. Its not really big but its something that they want to take care of before pests get in there and cause them problems.
The surrounding stucco does have some cracking but it is pretty stable. When he taps on it there is no movement or a general sound like the pieces are going to chip off. Unfortunately in the Northeast this is a problem that most home owners have to chase year after year. Concrete is a great material but if you damage it the freeze and thaw of ice in the winter will chip it away like a wedge and a hammer. It is slow but it will happen. Anything that you can do to prevent it is worth the effort and catching it early is also the best choice.
Patching Mortar Stucco
Patching Mortar whether it be in Stucco or Brick or Stone is pretty easy. The first thing you need to do is stay calm about the process. If you only have a small amount of damage to repair and it is not something more serious like your fireplace chimney leaning a foot away from the house or the floors in your house sagging because your foundation is failing, then the process is pretty simple and easy.
You will need a few supplies to get the job done.
Pointed Mortar Trawl
5 Gallon Bucket To Mix The Mortar
Hammer And Chisel To Knock Out The Old Chips
Bag Of Premixed Mortar
Play Sand or Mix To Match The Existing Surface Texture
Large Sponge To Wet Down The Area
The first thing you want to do is remove all of the lose mortar and stucco around the damaged area. As you can see there were previous attempts that have cracked and that all needs to be removed if its loose.
You can use those pieces to fill in the area behind the wall so you have something to work on and not just a hole. Mix up a few shovels or about a gallon jug worth of mortar to set the broken pieces into the hole.
Wet down the entire area about a foot back and then start buttering the pieces of broken mortar and using them to fill in that hole. You want about an inch of space remaining for the final surfacing of the wall so don’t make it flush to the existing wall right now.
Once you have filled the hole with backing material you should wait a day for the mortar to set. If you were in a rush you could use Fast Setting or Instant Setting Mortar and that would cure in just an hour or two.
Now you need to finish the final surface so mix up whatever amount of mortar you think you will need to fill the area. Apply it to the surface to make it flush with the existing wall.
Final finishing requires that you use your hand to press the sandy gravel into the fresh mortar and then hit it again with the trowel to make it flush. Play Sand can be used for this but you might want to visit your local landscaping supply place and if they are good and have a good selection of stone and sand they might have a closer match.
Finally you want to let that set for about 2 hours and then come back with a moist but not wet sponge and wipe the mortar off of the surface of the sandy gravel.
Final Note
This is not really difficult work but getting a good match to the existing surface is very hard to do. The reason is because of the sand used for the surface. You may find a good existing match or you might be off by quite a lot. I have heard the trick from some masons to make new work look like old work is to throw or rub some dirt into the final work but that can be a risky thing to do.
The fact is there is more than just looks that should be motivating you to repair this area such as reducing further problems and the possibility of mice or other pests making home under your porch.
So since this is an easy weekend project you should give it a try. A bag of mortar only costs a couple dollars and then the rest is pretty much just the time involved.