This calculator is perfect for anyone planning to mix their own stucco base coat using raw materials: Plastic Cement and sand.
Bulk Base Coat Mixes Using Plastic Cement & Sand
Mixing your own base coat gives you full control over the materials and allows for significant cost savings, especially on larger projects.
Unlike pre-mixed stucco products, which can be convenient for smaller repairs or areas, mixing from scratch with Plastic Cement and sand is a more economical choice when working on larger walls or multiple surfaces.
Plastic cement also has lime added already, making the recipe simple.
By mixing your own, you also ensure a consistent 3:1 sand-to-cement ratio, which is essential for a strong and durable base coat, whether you're applying a scratch coat, a brown coat, or any other base stucco layer.
Calculations are set to 110 sq. feet per 94 lb. bag @ 3/8" thickness to allow for variations in application method, ambient temperature, dropped product, etc.
* Yield will vary based on many different factors such as material composition, application method, ambient temperature, finish chosen and other factors.
1
Enter Square Footage...
Enter the square footage of the wall or walls that you want to apply the base coat to, in total.
2
How Thick You Want It...
Choose the thickness of the base coat material that you want to apply to the wall or walls.
3
Calculate The Information...
After you have all the information about your project into the calculator, just click the calculate button.
Calculation Results: Here is a better explanation of the calculation results that the calculator will spit out and what they mean...
Bags of Plastic Cement: The number of 94 lb. bags of Plastic Cement you will need for the square footage and thickness you are trying to achieve.
Sand Needed/60# Bags of Sand: The amount of sand needed is displayed as the total amount of sand that is needed (in cubic yards) and will be helpful for those of you out there that plan on buying your sand in bulk from a material yard. Most material yards can calculate yards of sand for you, so if they sell their bulk sand by the ton instead, they should be able to convert the yardage amount for you.
If you are planning on using 60 pound bags of sand instead, which are usually available from big box home improvement stores, then it will display how many bags you will need for that.
Note: the amount of sand needed and the number of 60 pound bags are the same amount, it just breaks the information down for you if you want to buy the sand in bulk (yards of sand) or plan on using 60 pound bags of sand instead.
Weight of Plastic Cement: This is how much weight the bags of Plastic Cement will weigh and is something that you will have to consider, especially if you will be hauling the bags of cement in your vehicle.
Weight of Dry Sand: This is the weight of the sand that will be needed for your project and the weight that is displayed is approximate, due to the variable that comes with sand and moisture content. Sand can vary in weight by several hundred pounds per cubic yard, but we used dry sand for our example to get a more average calculation out of it.