Herb Nordmeyer Leading Stucco Consultant.
Herb Nordmeyer grew up in a family that was in the Pozzolan business. They had the best volcanic ash deposits in the country. This opened the doors to Herb becoming a research scientist with an interest in Pozzolans including fly ash. As he progressed in his career he became the acknowledged expert in Stucco, lime and mortar. As a stucco expert, he has designed and specified many of the bagged mixes that are currently available around the country.
Tragedy builds a friendship. We met Herb when he was organizing the Straw Bale Association of Texas to finish the Greg Tomko Straw Bale home. Greg Tomko was building his straw bale dream home when he fell of the roof and passed away. This left a mother and several children with an unfinished home and no father. One of the Tomko children was paralyzed from an auto mobile accident. Herb and SBAT along with hundreds of volunteers stepped forward to finish the home for the family. When we heard about the project, we sent a stucco sprayer to Herb to help out. One of the treasures that came out of the project was the beginning of our friendship with Herb that is close to two decades old. Thank you Herb, Thank you SBAT. God Bless the Tomko’s.
Herb is quick to point out that he is not an architect, an engineer, or an attorney, but that he has been in construction related fields for most of his life. When his father, in whose steps Herb followed, found he needed a chemistry education, the family cleared off the dining room table and he and his father studied chemistry three nights a week under the guidance of his mother, a chemist. Even though Herb went on to earn degrees in biology, chemistry, and aquatic ecology, he considers his real education that home schooling. After following a career based on his formal education for a few years, he got back into the construction materials field. Over the years he has had such formal job titles as:
Assistant to the head of research and development,
Director of Research, and
Product and Technology Manager.
For the last 10 years he has been known informally as “the old codger.”
His work has involved:
Product development,
Formulating stuccos, mortars, and hydraulic cements,
Providing in-plant and in-field quality control,
Providing assistance to users of masonry and stucco products, including cast stone,
Troubleshooting at construction sites when problems develop,
Forensic analysis when problems develop after a building is placed into service, and
Developing and presenting AIA and other training modules concerning stuccos, masonry, pozzolans, and green building.
He has been very active in ASTM, serving on Committees C 1 (Cements) C 11 (Gypsum and Related Products – including stucco), C 12 (Mortar for Unit Masonry), C 15 (Masonry Units), and C 27 (Precast Products), and had the honor of serving on the Board of Directors of ASTM Committee C 12.
Herb has authored and co-authored several articles and publications including, but not limited to:
Stucco Handbook for Builders {ISG Resources, 1999},
High Pozzolan Mortars and Stuccos {14th International Symposium on Management and Use of Coal Combustion Products (CCPs), EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 2001},
Acid Resistance of High Fly Ash Mortars and Stuccos {15th International Symposium on Management and Use of Coal Combustion Products (CCPs), EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, 2003},
High Pozzolan Mortars and Stuccos (Masonry: Opportunities for the 21st Century, STP 1432, ASTM, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, 2003},
Degradation of One-Coat Stucco By Well-Meaning Professionals {Walls and Ceilings Magazine, BNP Media, November 2005},
Degradation of One-Coat Stucco By Well-Meaning Professionals-A Further Look {Walls and Ceilings Magazine, BNP Media, February, 2006},
Water-Repellent Performance in Pozzolanic and Traditional Mortars (with Paul Taylor) {World of Coal Ash, 2007 Proceedings, American Coal Ash Associations, 15200 East Girard Ave, Suite 3050, Aurora, CO 50014, 2007},
Type S Masonry Mortars Modified with Liquid Water Repellent (with John H. Matthys) {10th North American Masonry Conference. The Masonry Society, 3970 Broadway, Suite 201-D, Boulder, CO 80304, 2007},
Greening of Mortars with Pozzolans (with Keith Bargaheiser) {Eleventh Symposium on Masonry, STP 1496, ASTM P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, 2008},
Variations in the Activity of Dry-Powder Water-Repellent Mortar Admixtures with Different Mortar Formulae (with Pam Hall) {Eleventh Symposium on Masonry, STP 1496, ASTM P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, 2008}.
Herb’s love of teaching and creative side can be seen in many of his
projects. This lovely faux stucco tree stump shed, that he named Victoria’s Secret,
was built by his friend, Vikki. Herb taught her and guided her through the
construction process. Before this, her biggest ferrocement project was a
small mushroom stool.
His wife, Judy, claims that everything he does is a research project since he built her a straw home before most people had heard of straw construction and then built her a larger energy efficient home that gets most of its cooling and all of its heating from the basement.
Nordmeyer, LLC, specializes in:
- mortar, stucco, and manufactured stone forensics
- mortar and stucco consulting, including formulae development
- energy efficient construction, and
- straw bale construction
Stucco consultant: What can Herb Nordmeyer do for your project or product?
He can design and specify a mix to match a specific project.
He can evaluate your batching, mixing and stucco application systems for efficiency and alignment with manufacturers specifications.
He can act as an expert witness for Stucco, lime, mortar and plasters. BUT, he prefers to solve problems and make suggestions for quality stucco installation to avoid problems ahead of time.
Contact Herb Nordmeyer with your stucco questions. His email address is: herbnordmeyer@gmail.com
His phone number is: 210-573-2030
When he is away from stucco, Herb teaches kayak safety and offers Texas Nature Kayaking trips.
More information on Stucco.
