The Stucco Book – The Basics
Everything you need to know for a perfect conventional stucco job, written in a
fun-to-read style
By: Herb Nordmeyer
From the Preface:
“My friends tell me I should write a book about stucco. My clients tell me I should write a book about stucco. I look at the internet and find that I am a leading expert on stucco. I just cannot get started on the book, but when my granddaughter’s father told me this afternoon it was time to get started, I started developing an outline. Since I have been told that when the plan is complete, the job is half done, I guess I should call him and announce that my book concerning stucco is half done. I have an outline, which is a plan.
“Seriously, I have been in the construction materials business for most of my life. My father and his father were in similar businesses, and as I was growing up, I listened and remembered when my father talked. This has given me about 90 years of experience to draw on. Often I do not remember some of these experiences until someone asks a question, then it comes flooding back. An example is the plastering of the ceiling in the Edinburg, Texas, Railroad Depot. It was being redone for use by the Chamber of Commerce. The plaster had little red and blue flecks in it. When these flecks were mentioned to me, I remembered that my father had told me that when he was a teenager, they were building the depot and someone had brought 1/8” pieces of red and blue thread from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and that they had mixed it in with the final coat of plaster.”
The Stucco Book – The Basics was published February, 2012, and is available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksaMillion.com and from this website. If ordering from this website, go to the Home page and then down to the approprate Google Button. If you would like an autographed copy, please add an appropreate note as you are filling out the instructions after clicking on the Google Button.
This was going to be a nice little 250-page book, but then I started writing and found that it would not fit into 250 pages, so I decided to publish three volumes concerning stucco. After you read The Basics, you can start looking forward to:
The Stucco Book – Forensics and Repairs
Everything you need in order to determine why a stucco job went bad and to correct the problems, written in a fun-to-read style.
To be published in 2013
The Stucco Book – Creative Stuccoing
Even if you never plan to plaster a straw house or plant moss in a natural-looking rock you created from a cardboard box and stucco, you need to read this book for the fun of it.
To be published in 2014
Comments by Reviewers:
Herb Nordmeyer is one of the industry experts I go to when I need technical assistance. He has the ability to take a complex subject and explain it so anyone can understand it. Last night I started reading a draft copy of The Stucco Book – The Basics, and could not put it down. Besides being chock full of information, it is written in a humorous style. Have you ever read a construction book that was interesting to read? This one is. While reading the book, it felt like Herb was sitting in the room talking directly to me as I read the book. I’ve never had such a special gift before.
Nolan Scheid, MortarSprayer.com
As I was reviewing The Stucco Book – The Basics, I heard that Andy Rooney had died. I never met Andy, but in reading his writings and listening to him talk, he could make me uncomfortable and at the same time like him all the more, because he was a man who could tell the truth in a more constructive manner than many others. He not only thoroughly knew what he is talking about, but he also cared very deeply. I’ve known Herb for a number of years and find that, like Andy, he thoroughly knows and cares about any subject he addresses. He is not afraid to poke fun at himself for the mistakes he has made gaining experience and wisdom. If you are a caring professional involved with stucco, this is a must-read book. If you have the good fortune to know or to meet Herb Nordmeyer, you will have no doubt that he not only knows his subject, but he also cares deeply about it.
John H. Koester, Founder and CEO of Masonry Technology
Sylvia Scheid posted a review on the Mortar Sprayer website that is definately worth reading.
Online Classes
Vertical Artisans has a class presented by Herb Nordmeyer with a title Stopping Cracks in Their Tracks. Information about that class can be found at http://www.verticalartisans.