Parging!

Dave and Cindi arrived late morning on Friday.  First, I showed them the house, which Dave had not seen since he and Kyle left in late March, and delighted in recounting for Cindi some of the more memorable moments in its construction.  Then I took them on a Cook's tour of the lighthouses down at the harbor.  We ended up at the Portage Store where we ordered sandwiches for a take-out lunch.  And since I'd forgotten to bring money with me, Dave got to treat!  Truth be known, clergy are slippery characters at best!  Mind your watch and wallet....

After lunch Dave and I got busy with the parging.  The blue, 2-inch Dow insulation used on the basement walls is visible above grade.  This part of the insulation would be degraded over time by exposure to sunlight.  To prevent this, you have to cover the insulation with a stucco-like material.  We used a product called Sto, which you mix with water to the consistency of thinset or pancake batter.

Dave opens a bag of Sto, which starts as a fine gray powder.

As you add water and mix, it becomes a dark gray "batter."

Two inches of dry mix makes about all the material you can
trowel onto the building before it gets too stiff to work.

When the "batter" is ready, you trowel on a thin layer, or skim coat, and then apply plastic mesh which, when the product dries, provides structural support for the parging.  This plastic mesh sticks to the skim coat.  When it's in place, you trowel on more Sto, so that the mesh largely disappears into the cement-like coating.  Finally, you give the surface whatever finish you desire — smooth, patterned, swirled, etc.  I opted for a smooth finish.  As Dave noted, now it looks like I have a poured cement basement.

Friday: Dave trowels Sto over the yellow plastic mesh.

Friday: Dave finishes the street side of the house.  Earlier,
I had prepped the surface by digging out the dirt, and then
using coarse sandpaper to roughen up the insulation.

Dave had not done parging before, so Friday afternoon was devoted to learning how this product works.  For example, you have to make up small batches of Sto, because the material starts setting up in 15-20 minutes, and rapidly becomes too stiff to work.  We also found that this is a two-person job.  Dave applied the material to the house, while I cut sections of mesh as needed.  My role saved Dave a lot of running back and forth.

Saturday: Dave rapidly coats the south side of the house.
By this time he was the fastest parger in the Midwest!

Saturday: Dave finishes this job by covering the walls of
the basement egress window well.

The work went slowly on Friday as Dave mastered his technique.  By Saturday morning he had "got his groove", as the saying goes, and literally raced around the rest of the building.  The window well for the basement egress window was our last section of parging.  Upon reflection, the only thing I would change is doing this on a blistering hot day!

The product dries quickly.  By day's end on Friday the first section we worked on was changing from dark gray to a light cement gray.  Now the whole basement is a consistent color.  This week I will inspect the job to see if touch-ups are needed.  Then I'll have to apply a sealer.  Dan at Building Express in Alpena, where I bought the Sto and mesh, warned me that the material will be somewhat porous after it dries.  To prevent the parging from absorbing rain water, I can treat it with cement paint (any color I wish) or cement sealer (for a cement look).  The latter seems best.  Once it's sealed, I can rake topsoil up against the wall to hide the lower edge of the parging and divert water away from the building.

The parging material dries within a couple hours.  I will
give it several days to cure, and then apply a sealer.

And what of Cindi, you may ask?  What was Cindi up to as Dave and I labored under the tropical sun?  Well, let me assure you that no moss grows on my former secretary!  First, Cindi introduced me to her new iPad, on which she had downloaded two books, as well as a number of enchanting photos of Emma, their second grandchild.  Then Miss Cindi spent an hour or so inspecting the porch overlooking Lake Esau, followed by a couple hours giving the living room sofa a good workout ("Great napping couch, John!").  She would also ply Dave and me with ice water or Mountain Dew when we pleaded for mercy.  Happily, both Cindi and Dave like the house and locale, and agree that Presque Isle is one of Michigan's best kept secrets.

Cindi hard at work on what will someday become my
screened porch with a view of the lake.

There's more to tell about Dave and Cindi's visit, but that must wait for tomorrow's blog post. •••