Are they leaving ventilation openings in the stucco/stone? 1 sq. ft. of ventilation per 150 sq. ft. of enclosed crawl space is required, and they must be within 3' of every corner.

I don't see any moisture barriers between stucco and wood, either. Or any sort of expansion joint. You're going to have future wood rot and/or cracked stucco where it hits the sheathing like that. Wood and portland cement do not get along very well.

I'm also not sure it's kosher to stucco right up to an electrical main like that, but I'm not positive on that one.

And a final lol and mixing concrete by hand in a wheelbarrow. These guys are masons and they don't have a mixer?


Oh ****, wait, did you say the stone was going all the way up? Is that footer deep and wide enough to support the load? You have bad soil, and whatever they're pouring (poured now, I guess) needs to support several tons of stone if you're doing the entire wall.

These guys are scaring me.

.

I measured the footing. The back board is a 2x12 so it's at least 11 1/2" deep. I have no idea if that's enough.

But, check out how they poured around my gas meter.



Apparently, they ran out of concrete last night. Shouldn't that all be one pour?

Joe's last words last night were "we'll be there in the morning"

Hmm, gas lines aren't something I know a ton about, but burying a pipe with 2 elbows in concrete seems a bit sketchy. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be sleeved. I'd definitely ask the gas company to come take a look before they go any further.

Also, how are they planning to run the stone around the meter? Will it all fit behind it? And what about that hose bib?

Footer requirement is minimum 12" below grade. Width looks fine, depth sounds like it's probably pretty close. Just hope all the soil in the area got compacted well after all the digging they did for the piers and stuff. You said you had a ton of rain, so that's good. Nothing compacts soil better than water and time.

They really couldn't be bothered to run to the store for one more bag of concrete?

Yeah, they never showed up today. That's fine, though. They left all their stuff here so I know they are coming back.

Is that a good thing?

LOL, I know.

First off, props for taking on such a large project. I think it's awesome.

Just curious: Is there nothing- e.g. sheathing- behind that stucco mesh? I know that after multiple coats it'll be solid, but I've never seen it done like that.

Thanks!

I think that's OK? That's the way it was before. zikzak could answer better than me.

Cool. What's the plan for the front entry area? Deck? Concrete?

Right now I'm leaning towards that super expensive manufactured (plastic maybe?) decking. It will probably extend out past the house.

OK, need a little help.

The outlet boxes are already in. They stick out just a bit from the sheathing.

Hardi recommends blocking them, which I can do. But, that would leave about an inch gap between the edge of the box and the cover, leaving wires just kind of out there. Doesn't seem ideal.

I've been looking online for some sort of box to help me with this. The only problem is I gotta order whatever I buy. They aren't in stock anywhere near here. They are sort of pricey, especially if they won't work.

Here's what I think I might be able to use

This is my first choice. I can get these through amazon.



I can get these through Lowes

There's definitely something to be said for paying a bit more upfront and not having to worry about rot and periodic re-sealing. Composite decking seems much improved and no longer looks so plastic-y.

Can you use standard box extenders to make up the gap, then go with Sturdimounts (or something similar)?

(Doh: Maybe that top pic is an extender- seems like it has a back wall but maybe there's a knockout)

Geez, I really don't know about this at all. I'm not really sure what a "standard" box extender looks like. I don't feel too bad, nobody at Lowe's knows either.

Today's word is "aggravation".

Started out trying to find those outlet blocks. I was successful at getting a substantial number of "say what?" looks from multiple Lowe's and Home Depot employees.

So, I gave that up and started blocking the vents. I learned that cutting hardi trim with a jigsaw is not much fun. I went through a bunch of blades so I had to make another trip to Lowe's to get more. The guy there showed me this fancy diamond blade which I bought and ruined in about 30 seconds. I finally just got pissed off and forced the cuts. I did get it done but not without a lot of frustration. (pics below).

Somehow I started with 3 4" vents but only have 2 now. I apparently sheathed over one. I probably won't go looking for it. It's the fan vent for the small 1/2 bath. I really don't care if the air goes in the attic.

Then I decided to put drip edge above the window trim. I thought this would be pretty easy only the drip edge wasn't right. My guess is it's made for wood trim and hardi trim is thicker. To make matters worse, Lowe's gave me 2 almost similar but not quite the same trim. The newer style trim is a bit smaller in each dimension making it even harder to make work. I almost had enough of the bigger stuff but of course I ran out before I could finish.

To top off my crappy day, I stepped on a nail, stepped on a piece of concrete that moved over and smacked my ankle, got bit by a spider or some bug, and this:



pics of vent blocking

I don't love it, because stucco is brittle and it's gonna crack if you whack it hard with the lawn mower or whatever. But it's just a decorative skirt, so yeah, it's fine. If you were in a colder climate it'd be a different story. Frost heaves would wreck it in a season or two.

These things should be in stock in all the big box stores, usually in several different thicknesses. http://www.homedepot.com/p/ReceptXte...8#.UolySuKUJI0 That's all you need, right?

The skirting right now is low on my worry list. That's something I can deal with in the future if it fails. Now, that stone wall they haven't done yet...

Yeah, that will definitely work. I'm not sure why I didn't see it. Thanks.

Would these work?

http://www.amazon.com/SturdiMount-Re..._bxgy_hi_img_y

Yeah, I saw those too.

It's so hard to tell if anything will work without actually trying it. I'm going to see if I can find those extenders that zikzak linked. They are super cheap so if they don't work I'll just go to plan B.

Well, Joe was here at some point in time today. There's a rock in a different place and some concrete was poured along that side where they plan to make the stucco thicker.

Definitely not a day's work, even for one person.

My patience is starting to wear out.

I'm gonna call this guy no show Joe.

I called him and he told me his helper got thrown in jail in San Marcos (neighboring town). So he's looking for another helper. He told me he would try to get the guy that does painting for him. I expressed my concern that this was not a painting job.

I asked why he didn't contact me and he said he thought he could get it all straightened out and it would be better not to call me. I explained to him that not calling me was pretty bad.

He then told me he thought he could get 2 other guys (masons) soon.

I then expressed my concern that what had happened so far would be indicative of the finished product. He assured me that was not the case.

I actually think his heart is in the right place but he just doesn't have his **** together. Given that, he still has a very short leash right now.

God, that's so familiar: here's this swanky tool that's gonna solve my problems... ...oh **** I broke it.

Well, I'm not sure if it was the talk or Joe just got his act together. Probably some of both.

He found a real mason (see pic). Apparently it is the uncle of the guy that got thrown in jail. He seemed to know what he was doing. That hole is where the faucet needs to be moved out.

I'm pretty happy now.