any quality issues with stucco and stone being doen in winter (Toronto)?

[Gerry Wang]

Likely I will have to do stucco and stone for exterior walls in Dec (temp is ~0C). I heard from some contractors there is no problem to do so as they do this every year. However, also heard from someone don't do it in winter unless you REALLY have to.

I want to finish the exterior and move to indoor for the rest of winter, but if the quality risk is high then I might have to just work on interior first, and work on exterior walls next spring.

Decision need to make soon. Appreciate all suggestions!!

[Steven Turetsky]

Check the manufacturer's specifications, and that includes whatever adhesive (cement) being used. Most manufacturers recommend 40 degrees and rising (for 24 hours).

If the water in the mix freezes you could have an adhesion problem.

[Garry Sorrells]

If you can wait ----- then wait till spring.

Cement and winter really do not mix well. You can make (force) it to set up (additives) but then it has to cure. The curing is where I see the issue in freezing weather.

[Gerry Wang]

Thank you all for the replies. Seems I should wait for the Spring for stucco.

Can I just go ahead with plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, painting, etc? anything I need to pay attention if I skip exterior and jump to interior?

[Egbert Jager]

Thank you all for the replies. Seems I should wait for the Spring for stucco.

Can I just go ahead with plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, painting, etc? anything I need to pay attention if I skip exterior and jump to interior?

Are you talking about the whole house? If you can find a contractor who is willing to do the whole house, paper, lath and flashings and scratch coat before its seriously cold (+4 C) then lucky you. The contractor may hoard and heat sections but that would sure up the price! You can have the finish coat done in the spring once everything has had a chance to stabilize again. I've always advocated waiting as long as possible after the scratch coat is applied, but it ups the price if the contractor has to come back and set-up scaffolding and such again. Significantly reduces cracking vs the "get the whole house done, all three coats in a week" that is more typical here.

Then the only thing you have to worry about and pay attention to is plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, painting, etc.

[Gerry Wang]

by +4C you mean lowest temp or mean temp? If lowest, for sure I cannot make it in Dec in Toronto. The maybe I have to just wrap the house with paper or something and work on interior.

Also, do I need to heat it up when I do interior?


Are you talking about the whole house? If you can find a contractor who is willing to do the whole house, paper, lath and flashings and scratch coat before its seriously cold (+4 C) then lucky you. The contractor may hoard and heat sections but that would sure up the price! You can have the finish coat done in the spring once everything has had a chance to stabilize again. I've always advocated waiting as long as possible after the scratch coat is applied, but it ups the price if the contractor has to come back and set-up scaffolding and such again. Significantly reduces cracking vs the "get the whole house done, all three coats in a week" that is more typical here.

Then the only thing you have to worry about and pay attention to is plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, painting, etc.

[Scott Patterson]

by +4C you mean lowest temp or mean temp? If lowest, for sure I cannot make it in Dec in Toronto. The maybe I have to just wrap the house with paper or something and work on interior.

Also, do I need to heat it up when I do interior?

Yes, you need heat to do the interior properly. Drywall must be finished in a controlled environment. If it is too cold the drywall mud will crack and little holes/bubbles will appear, if it is too hot the drywall mud will crack. The DW manufacturer will have specific installation guidelines that you should follow.

[Egbert Jager]

by +4C you mean lowest temp or mean temp? If lowest, for sure I cannot make it in Dec in Toronto. The maybe I have to just wrap the house with paper or something and work on interior.

Also, do I need to heat it up when I do interior?

Yes, the temperature should be above 4 degrees until the mortar has cured sufficiently. Ice crystal formation is NOT a good thing.

And Scott Patterson is (of course) correct. Drywall mudding, painting, even cementing (glueing) your ABS drain lines all require temperatures above 4 C. You could do your electrical rough in, maybe metal ductwork and furnace installation but not sure how flexible PEX piping is when its -30, and glad I don't have to find out!

[BridgeMan]

And if it can be avoided, don't pour any concrete in cold temps, either. Frozen conditions permanently ruin Portland cement's ability to hydrate, and result in the frozen concrete having a unique smell that lasts for years. Cold (but not freezing) temperatures will slow down the hydration/strength gain process considerably.

[Raymond Wand]

BC Ready Mix Concrete Association - Concrete Tips for Cold Weather Climates (http://www.bcrmca.bc.ca/industry_info/technical_resources/concrete_tips_for_cold_weather_climates)

Cold Weather Concrete- Tips and Information about Placing Concrete in Cold Weather - The Concrete Network (http://www.concretenetwork.com/cold-weather-concrete/)

[Egbert Jager]

Placing insulation over frozen ground for a few days can cause it to thaw.


The concrete guys from Vancouver have it pretty easy..lol

[John Kogel]

Thank you all for the replies. Seems I should wait for the Spring for stucco.

Can I just go ahead with plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, painting, etc? anything I need to pay attention if I skip exterior and jump to interior?Paper and lath the exterior.
If you wire the interior, get the electrical inspection done and get the drywall boarding done pronto.
Metal thieves are everywhere.

[Steven Turetsky]

Well it's great to be back on line; my internet just came back on.

Anyway, back to the subject:

If it were my house, I would apply a liquid moisture barrier first. Make sure you do the seams with trowelable material along with the fiberglass tape.
Put it on heavy (multiple coats). If you can spray it on, that works too.

Do all your flashings.

You can apply a freshener coat after the winter.

You will forever be happy you did this.

[Gerry Wang]

It is not that cold at Toronto in Dec. It could be ~5C during day time and ~0 at night. And it will reach -10C in Jan and Feb.
If I wait till the spring, then the work will be delayed to April, likely. so is my stone work on one wall. :mad: I am still debating... If I am lucky, next year there might be a warm March. But who knows?

The wall which I will put stone on won't have exterior insulation during the winter, so will increase my heating cost any way.

Maybe I should make the decision based on the temperature at the time I complete framing? Say if temperature is lower than -10C at night I need to wait till next spring, otherwise just heat it up etc.. It is really a hard decision to make.