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Exterior Distressed Finishing:
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This can be particularly challenging as we are generally trained in life to create uniform
patterns and you have to break this habit to mimic the chaotic patterns we see in nature. I've seen
some really awful work out there and it is generally a result of poor composition. It's easy
enough to make a 2x2 sample board look natural, but how can we do this on a much larger scale?
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Here's some tips on how to achieve randomness in your distressed finishing:
1- Study actual photos of crumbling plaster exteriors and interiors. Note the size and scale of the
different layers, note the shapes and direction. I generally work with about an 80% vertical and 20%
horizontal direction, very little or no diagonal direction.
2- The pattern on a sample board must be expanded to the size and scale of the walls. A sample board
may be viewed as a miniature version of the wall to be blown up accordingly.
3- Move your body in a large scale. That is, be expansive, move your arms accordingly - don't work
with small, tight motions from the wrist or elbow. Instead work from the shoulder. Stay loose.
4- Create pattern over multiple layers, not just on your final layer. This will force a greater degree
of randomness in your overall pattern. Here's an example:
On this exterior project the client really wanted to see dark brown openings through a Terra Cotta
finish. This created a finish with a high degree of contrast so we had to be particularly careful about
not allowing the house to have a contrived pattern when completed. We needed to do the finish in
two coats since it was a large exterior surface - approximately 20,000 square feet. Rather than
cover the entire first coat with the dark brown we chose to cover only about 15-20%.
This "under-pattern" was designed to help the stucco installers find a more realistic shape and scale
on their second pass of material. Also, note how the dark brown generally originates from the top
of the wall or the sides. This is often what you will see on an actual stuccoed surface where the
first coats of plaster are falling away from the surface. Kind of looked like a giant cow for a
while and the country club's community board got a little nervous, but fortunately our clients had
faith in me.
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This photos shows the work in progress on the 2nd layer: The dark brown is revealed in small, linear
shapes beneath the 2nd terra cotta stucco layer. By following the pattern initiated in the first layer,
we had a much easier time avoiding the contrived, obvious, unrealistic pattern I was concerned about.
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And here is a detail of the finished exterior surface.
Final tip: PRACTICE!! On a 4x8 sheet of drywall, or your mom's house. You'll get the hang of it.
Just don't try to figure it out on a multi million dollar job site if you can help it. Unless you
have nerves of steel. We don't.
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Good luck, write me with any questions or comments.
Email Aaron Cohen
Check out our Architectural Wall Finishing Series and other classes.
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© 2007 - All Rights Reserved. No Part of This Document May be Reproduced Without the Express Written
Consent of Seattle Architectural Finishing Studio Inc.
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