Stucco and Exterior Walls
On a hillside house the downhill walls collect the runoff. We open the problem areas, fix what sits behind the stucco, then finish the wall.
Look behind the crack first
A crack in stucco can be shrinkage, or it can be a footing that moved. On a slope the second is worth ruling out. We compare the crack pattern with the foundation and the grade before we price a patch.
Water at the base of the wall
Where the ground meets the wall is where stucco fails first: soil piled against it, a missing weep screed, or a downhill wall catching runoff. We restore clearance to grade, add or repair the screed and correct the drainage along that line.
Patch or full re-stucco
Small areas get patched and blended. Larger failures, or walls with rotted lath, are stripped to the framing, papered, lathed and coated again. The scope tells you which walls get which treatment, and why.
Stucco & Exterior: questions
We sample the finish and match it as closely as the material allows. A patch on a large plain wall can still show, so we may suggest finishing to a corner or a break line.
Not always. Diagonal cracks from window corners and stepped cracks near the base point that way more than fine web cracking does. We read the pattern and check the foundation before we say.
A full re-stucco, or work that replaces the paper and lath, can. A cosmetic patch often does not. The city decides, and we tell you which applies to your job.
Cracks or stains on an outside wall?
Describe the wall and where it sits on the lot. We will look at it and at what holds it up.