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After the Tyvek and chicken wire were applied, the crew from Joe Saenz Stucco taped clear plastic to the windows to prepare for the base coat of stucco. We are using elastomeric stucco from El Rey which has fibers and resins added to help keep it from cracking. It's a cement based material and can mess up window frames or anything else it touches. These guys were diligent about covering sections of the roof and the windows and doors to prevent problems.

The base coat is applied by hand, then smoothed. The chicken wire contains and holds the cement in place until it sets up. Once set, we hosed it down a few times per day to help the cement cure better. Cement cures with water and the more it's cured before the final color coat goes on, the less chance of cracking later.

While the stucco is being applied, our family crew, Evan (left) and Steven, are putting up tongue and groove wood to the underside of the porches. Having a light colored material on the porch ceilings brightens the space.

The base coat of stucco is coming along. You can see the bottom portion of the cement is wet. Wind and sun dry out the cement outside much faster than the interior cement plaster. We must keep all of this cement damp for a few days while it cures.

The base coat is now complete!