PRODUCTS: MASONRY MATERIALS

Maze Lumber stocks a wide variety of masonry products, including concrete blocks, cements, cultured stone and add mixes. Our "block yard" features many different sizes of the most commonly requested building block shapes. We also have a large stock of mortar mix, gravel mix, sand mix, mortar colors, sand, gravels and landscaping items.

Our fleet of delivery vehicles is always ready to deliver, in the event you are unable to pick up some of these unwieldy items at our yard. Our boom trucks are able to spot the load easily for you in accessible areas. Give us a call for our rate schedule, and we will be glad to provide a prompt delivery of your order.

We continue to stock numerous products that have been used in masonry projects for many years including lime, plaster, gypsolite, thinset, silica sand, Portland and masonry cement, If you have a new project, or are in the middle of a renovation, feel free to call our salespeople with any questions that you may have. We have been supplying the Illinois Valley with masonry materials since 1848. Our expertise is time proven, and we will provide you with useful tips and information to ensure the success of your project.

Materials needed for Stucco

Stucco is a mixture of Portland cement, hydrated lime, sand, and water. It is simply outdoor plaster. You can find it on houses, fences and anywhere that stucco is required for a fancy texture to a drab exterior. It can be easily repaired if needed, just make up a batch and re-apply the new mixture. It always blends right in with the old application. It's a durable covering for exterior walls. One of its advantages is that you can create different textures while masking imperfections in any wall. You can also add color to stucco. If you are building a block wall that you plan to stucco, strike the mortar joints flush. Clean an old block wall with soap or detergent before applying stucco.

For a scratch coat, you will need this mixture:
    1 part portland cement
    1 part hydrated lime
    2 1/2 to 4 parts sand

For a brown coat, you will need:
    1 part portland cement
    1 part hydrated lime
    3 1/2 to 5 parts sand

Finish coat ingredients:
    1 part portland cement
    1 part hydrated lime
    1 1/2 to 3 parts sand

You will need a wheel barrow for mixing the stucco and a trowel or shovel. Safety goggles while mixing are a good idea, just in case the materials being mixed should splash in your eyes. Mix the ingredients in the shade, the direct sunlight will cause the stucco to dry faster while mixing.

It's easiest to make stucco from pre-mixed bags, but you also can prepare your own mixture, which is much cheaper. All you need to make stucco for scratch, brown, and finish coats are different combinations of portland cement, hydrated lime, and sand. Do not at any time add more water than the ratio calls for, unless you just need to retemper the mixture, and do this only once.

To mix stucco, add water to the combined dry ingredients until the mixture is a uniform color and the consistency of a thick paste. Make only as much stucco at one time as you can apply in an hour or so. If the stucco starts to stiffen, you can retemper it only once by adding water and mixing, this is very important! There are three coats required in using stucco. You have to apply three coats in order for your project to be completed.

For adding color to your stucco, you will need to add a mineral oxide pigment to the finish coat mix and you can have any color you wish. Keep track of the exact proportions so that you can match the color again later when mixing a new batch of stucco. Pigments work best with white portland cement. You can be a designer with colored stucco and give life to old stucco projects outside your home. You can also match a house that is colored in stucco, by making the same colored stucco to match a fence. You will be the talk of the neighborhood and you can tell everyone that you did it yourself!

Products

PRODUCTS: MASONRY MATERIALS

Materials needed for Stucco