Courtyard Maintenance - Stucco Patch & Elastomeric Paint

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The stucco on our courtyard wall has cracked and flaked due to the snow and ice over the last few winters. 

Dan pressure washed the wall to remove dirt and loose paint/stucco.  

He used stucco patch from Home Depot to fill in the large bare spots.

After the patch was dry, he used elastomeric exterior paint.  Don't you love my messy picture?  ....and, uh, garage floor?

This is basically a rubberized paint and we used it in hopes that it will expand and contract with our extreme weather.  The paint is very thick and would be best to use it on a warm day.  

After the first coat dried, we noticed there were small holes from popped air bubbles under the paint.  This may have been why the paint cracked off in the first place.  Water gets into those small holes, freezes and separates the stucco.  Dan did a second lighter coat to fill in the small holes with the good elastomeric paint and come winter we'll hope for the best.  This doesn't sound like a fun job to do every other year!