Repair A Stucco Ceiling On An Exterior Porch

Practice patching stucco to match the designs and texture.

Stucco is a form of cement that's used to give texture to walls and ceilings. It's a great look for a porch ceiling---until a section of it sustains water damage or some other kind of problem and has to be patched. Patching up stucco is more complicated than most surfaces, because you have to match whatever design is in the surrounding stucco. Practicing your stucco technique ahead of time will save you some aggravation once you're up on the ladder.

Instructions

1. Set up your ladder under the damaged area. Scrape off all loose stucco from the area using a drywall knife. Make sure the remaining stucco around the edge of the damaged area is solid.

2. Open your stucco and bring it up the ladder.

3. Scoop up a trowel-full of stucco with your cement trowel and press it to the ceiling, in the middle of the damaged area. Spread it on the ceiling so it's about 1/2-inch thick and covers the entire area where you scraped off the damaged stucco.

4. Work the stucco into the same pattern as the surrounding stucco, using your trowel to swirl, pull or randomly line the wet stucco.

5. Allow the stucco to cure for three or four days. Paint the whole porch ceiling, using a thick-napped roller to get the paint into the crevices of the stucco.

Tags: damaged area, surrounding stucco, your stucco