Q: Where can I buy stucco?

A: You don’t really “buy” stucco so much as you buy the materials to mix stucco onsite or hire a contractor to do the work. You can purchase materials to make stucco throughout the country at material supply houses and home improvement centers.

There are a variety of acceptable mixture proportions for stucco, and the proportions of each successive coat vary. The individual materials may include portland, masonry, or plastic cement, lime or other plasticizers, sand, and water. The following documents contain tables of mixture proportioning recommendations:

• Portland Cement Plaster/Stucco Manual, EB049


• Repair of Portland Cement/Stucco, IS526


• Guide to Portland Cement Plastering, ACI 524


• Standard Specification for Application of Portland Cement-Based Plaster, ASTM C 926

It is not impossible to handle plastering repairs as a do-it-yourself project, but it is a fairly large undertaking for the average person. You can look to your local Yellow Pages or the Blue Book of Construction, available on line at www.thebluebook.com or at your local library to identify contractors in your area.