From the plans it says once the two stucco layers completed let it air dry for 5 days. Once the stucco layer has air dried I will be applying the finished brick layer. It is a full sized brick.
My question is may I begin the curing fires after the 5 day air dry and while I am installing the finished brick layer?
Dave LaCroix
Branford, CT
Hi Dave!
Yes, once your stucco is cured, you can do that. The first 2 or 3 curing fires will not generate a lot of heat or smoke (and, of course, you will not feel much heat if any on the underlying stucco).
I’d suggest working on the front (face) first, while you are getting cooler fires and so that you can take advantage of the slowly increasing peak heat.
As a reminder, front bricks need to leave enough space in front of them for the door to be able to stand. If you’re “closing off,” this is where you want to add bricks on their sides, and if you’re finishing over that, you’ll want to use split faces for just that area in the interest of having enough space.
Hope this helps, Dave!
Thanks Matt,
I guess I also wanted to make sure I can take the foam form out while I am laying full size brick on top of the stucco?
You can take the foam form out before you start any stucco. Once your arch has cured it will be structurally stable and the arch can be slipped out. The form serves no purpose once the arch is formed.
As I recall from previous photos you have shims laid under the arch, so it should be a relatively easy thing to slip those out and then the form.