I am wondering what you all might think of the following.

At the base of a McKim, Mead and White Building I have a rough granite
foundation wall, partly buried in a hillside, partly exposed, enclosing a
mechanical room. The interior space is unfinished. Originally the exterior
was finished with a lime putty stucco,which had fallen off some of the six
exposed faces of the wall. I proposed removing the rest of the stucco and
replacing it in kind. The contractor has already done a test panel of
replacement lime putty stucco.
The remains of the stucco came off the first three walls easily. The
remainder turn out to be a later replacement portland cement stucco which
remains very well adhered, so much so that the contractor is having a very
hard time removing it and has already sp
ent two days longer on this task
than he intended.
The room is very dry. For that reason I don't think the portland cement
stucco is a problem - its relatively good condition may be due to that, or
partly to the presence of a breathing stucco on 50% of the walls.
I am wondering if it is a good/bad idea to put a lime stucco over the
remains of the portland? Any comments?

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>