Last fall, we completed two stucco projects on the same block in south Minneapolis, just a few blocks away from the Mississippi River.  The homeowners of this project contacted us for a general refreshing of their home.  The home was totally covered in vines…they had let them go and eventually they completely covered the house.  The vines had even started growing into the windows and soffit trim!  So, the first step was to remove the vines.  We removed all of the branches a few weeks prior to the refinishing of the stucco, so that the remnants of the vines on the walls would die.  We could then use a torch to burn the feelers and smaller parts of the vines off.  We then clean the walls using a wire brush, to ensure that the new stucco would adhere properly to the existing stucco. We also had to complete numerous repairs to the stucco, including some areas on the rear of the home and along the sidewalks.  The homeowners also chose to have their walls insulated prior to the stucco projects.  In order to insulate the stucco walls, the contractor drills holes through the stucco in order to blow the new insulation into the wall cavities.  We then need to patch the holes, making sure they are level with the existing walls so that the patches blend seamlessly into the old stucco. After the vines were removed and the stucco repairs had dried and cured, we...