WestCon Tribune

Stucco:

Lessons Learned

Presented By: Chris Nelson,

Technical Roof Services, Inc.

Westcon member Chris Nelson has a general contracting background with a major emphasis on flashing, durable transitions among complex conditions and materials, sheet metal, carpentry, and miscellaneous work critical to the support and interphase between the roof/weatherproofing and the building; areas that are the most typical sources of troublesome water intrusion problems.

At TRS since 1988, Mr. Nelson has developed a deeper and broader understanding of roofing, waterproofing, weatherproofing, and flashing. He has extensive leak investigation experience having successfully isolated and analyzed many conditions, leak sources, and defects in walls, windows, doors, curtain walls, plaza decks, flashings, as well as a wide variety of roofing, waterproofing and weatherproofing conditions.

Mr. Nelson has developed detailed specifications and drawings for a wide variety of projects including historic buildings, office buildings, condominiums, residences, and others. He is familiar with a all kinds of roofing and weatherproofing products and systems, some of which include built-up roofing, PVC, modified bitumen, tile, wood shakes, shingles (composition, metal, cementitious, and wood), metal, foam, and coatings, as well as sealants (acrylic, butyl, urethane and silicone), and a variety of wall coverings.

At the October meeting, Mr. Nelson will present some of the lessons he has learned over the years about stucco with a particular focus on control joints, reveals, and the integration of louvers and storefront windows. 

The presentation will review how two-way louvers are lab tested and why one test is much more useful to the specifier who wants to control water entry.  Methods to flash nail-on fin windows are well developed in the industry but the flashing of storefront windows and louvers are poorly documented in industry literature.  The talk will discuss reliable solutions to flashing them.  Control joint integration with lath, control joint intersections and control joint types all have an influence on water resistance performance of the plaster assembly.  Aluminum reveals provide interesting architectural looks to a wall, but they are not to be mistaken for control joints.  If installed without consideration of movement, the behavior of plaster reveals can induce failure of the plaster system.