HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, igio 
The home of Mr. D. M. Murphy at Winchester, Mass., showing a very interesting combin¬ 
ation of materials—this time of brick and timber paneling with the stucco. Robert Coit, 
architect 
for if the blocks are not moist they will pull the water out of the 
mortar and it will crack and disintegrate. Portland cement re¬ 
quires water in its makeup until it has thoroughly hardened, 
which ultimate hardening usually requires from fourteen days 
to a month. It is not always necessary, of course, to play the 
hose on the wall for a month, although it would be advisable. 
The dews at night, the dampness in the atmosphere and the rain 
will furnish the necessary moisture, provided the material on 
which the mortar has been plastered has not too great an affinity 
for water. 
In order to prevent the porous hollow terra-cotta tile from 
sucking the moisture from the stucco, and also to furnish water¬ 
proofing and an additional bond other than that which would be 
given by the key, it is good practice to paint the surface of the 
dry terra-cotta blocks after having been erected in the wall with 
two coats of first-class bituminous paint. It is important that 
the first coat of stucco be placed over this paint after twenty- 
four hours and within six days. 
Proportions for a good stucco 
should be i part Portland ce¬ 
ment, 2]/ 2 parts coarse clean 
sand (if coarse clean sand is 
not available use only 2 parts 
of sand). Add well hydrated 
lime, dry pulverized, equiva¬ 
lent to io or 15 per cent, of the 
volume of the cement. 
In mixing stucco great care 
should be exercised to obtain 
the thorough incorporation of 
cement, sand and the other 
aggregates. The sand and ce¬ 
ment should be mixed together 
dry until an even color results. 
This can be done by shoveling, 
and raking while shoveling. 
Water should then be added, 
being careful not to add too 
much water at a time and not 
to get the resulting mortar too 
wet, so that more sand or cement has to be 
added. Be very careful to bring the result¬ 
ing mortar up to the proper consistency for 
plastering. 
It is advisable to add to the mortar from 
10 to 15 per cent, of the volume of the ce¬ 
ment of well hydrated lime. This should 
be mixed dry with the cement and sand be¬ 
fore the water is added. The addition of 
hydrated lime tends to '‘fatten'’ the mortar, 
making it more adhesive and impervious. 
Another specification which we believe 
will prove of considerable value provides 
for the addition of mineral oil to wet mor¬ 
tar. After the water is added and thor- 
oughly mixed with the mortar add 15 per 
cent, of mineral oil and remix. If a light 
efifect is to be produced use white oil. 
When the oil is to be mixed with the mor¬ 
tar it is always advisable to use hydrated' 
lime, as we thus have a larger amount of 
emulsifying material. 
If it is the desire of the owner or archi¬ 
tect to use the exposed aggregate method, 
interesting natural colors can be obtained 
by using the following materials instead of 
sand, in the same proportions: Green, red, buff, black or white 
marble screenings, all passing a number 8 screen and all collected 
on a number 40 screen. These different colored marbles and dif¬ 
ferent colored sands, where obtainable, can be used singly or in a 
combination. When exposed by scrubbing or by means of the 
acid treatment, very interesting results are obtained, the resulting 
color being limited only by the available sand or marble screen¬ 
ings ; in each case the color will be the color of the aggregates. 
Or, an excellent green can be obtained by adding 8 per cent, of 
the weight of the cement of cromium oxide. This should be 
mixed dry with the sand, cement and hydrated lime. 
Always keep in mind that the surface to which the mortar is 
to be applied must be thoroughly saturated with water, each coat 
of stucco must be kept moist and the final coat must remain moist 
for at least one week, and longer if economy will permit. 
Stucco should not be troweled to a smooth surface. The artist 
(Continued on page 123.) 
Particularly when stucco is used for the walls throughout is it advisable to secure in one of the many 
available ways a rough texture for the surface. “Renemede,” the home of Mr. H. J. Hardebergh, 
architect, Bernardsville, N. J. 
