-1

My stucco patch job took 3 weekends because I ignored the shade factor

I tried to patch a crack in my stucco wall out in Phoenix last month and it kept drying too fast and crumbling. After the first weekend wasted I realized the sun was hitting it directly for 6 hours a day. I had to build a temporary shade tarp setup and mist the patch every 20 minutes to get it to cure right. Has anyone else run into this with exterior repairs in the desert heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_ramirez21h ago

Did you try adding a retarder to the mix before you set up the tarp? Curious if that would've saved you the trouble of building the whole shade rig.

zara_sanchez19h ago

Retarder slows the set time but doesn't fix the heat issue. Direct sun still bakes the top layer even with a slower cure. The shade rig actually controls the temperature where it matters.

the_robin16h ago

It's funny how shade fixes so many problems, not just in concrete...