Pros and Cons of Painting Stucco
Don’t feel stuck with your stucco—it might be beneficial to paint it!
Highlights
Stucco is a popular type of siding, particularly in the southwest.
You can paint stucco siding if the color is fading or you want to change up the color of your home.
Painting stucco has many benefits, including refreshing old stucco and giving it a new color, preventing mold, and adding waterproofing.
Painting stucco also has drawbacks, such as the high cost to paint, as well as more complicated repairs down the line.
Stucco is a great siding choice for your house. It’s durable, fire-resistant, and great at retaining your home’s interior temperature. But over time, the condition of the stucco can degrade, and you might be tempted to paint it to keep it looking fresh. Before you do, weigh the pros and cons of painting stucco and consider the alternative options available to you. To help, we’ll walk through these benefits and drawbacks below.
What Is Stucco?
Stucco is a type of siding that is particularly common in Southwest architecture. Made from a mixture of sand, lime, water, and either Portland cement or acrylic resins and polymers, stucco siding is durable, an effective insulator, naturally fire resistant, and relatively easy to maintain.
There are two main types of stucco:
Traditional stucco uses Portland cement. Though it’s prone to cracks over time, it’s generally easier to repair traditional stucco siding than synthetic siding.
Synthetic stucco uses acrylic resins and polymers in its mixture. This makes it less prone to cracking and better at regulating interior temperatures, but it’s also more expensive.
Learn more about the differences between traditional stucco and synthetic stucco in our guide.
One of the best benefits of this type of siding is that you can paint stucco to change up the exterior of your house or simply freshen it up if it’s looking a little worn. But there are both pros and cons to consider before hiring an exterior painter near you to paint your stucco.
| Pros of Painting Stucco | Cons of Painting Stucco |
|---|---|
| Refresh your home | High cost |
| Choose new color | More difficult repairs |
| Prevent mold and mildew | Peeling paint |
| Add waterproofing |
Pros of Painting Stucco
Painting stucco has several advantages. Chief among them are the following:
1. You Can Refresh Worn Stucco
Over time, stucco siding can start to crack and fade. Painting the stucco is an easy way to bring some life back to your home’s exterior and boost its curb appeal.
2. You Can Choose an All-New Color
Even if your stucco is in good shape, a fresh coat of paint—in an entirely new color—is an easy way to change things up, especially if you don’t love the color of your current stucco siding.
3. You Can Prevent Mold and Mildew
Small cracks often form in stucco over time, providing the perfect entry points for moisture. Over time, this can lead to mold and mildew growth inside the cracks. Painting over these cracks prevents moisture—and thus mold—buildup.
4. You Can Add Additional Waterproofing
Depending on the paint you choose, you may even further waterproof your stucco when painting it. If this is a concern for you, ask your painter for recommendations, such as elastomeric paint, that can help better waterproof your home.
Cons of Painting Stucco
While there are several pros of painting stucco, there are some disadvantages to consider as well, including the following:
1. Painting Stucco Is Expensive
The cost to paint a stucco house can run from $3,600 to $7,200. If you’re solely painting it to cover some cracks that have formed, it’s likely much cheaper to simply patch those cracks yourself.
2. Stucco Repair Costs Will Be Higher
Once you paint stucco, you can’t stucco over it. The stucco won’t be able to bond with the painted surface and thus will not properly adhere. If you ever need to make repairs down the line to the stucco, you’ll have to first sandblast off the existing paint, and then repair the stucco, and then repaint it. These additional steps will make stucco repair costs somewhat higher for you.
3. Paint Will Peel Over Time
Once you paint your stucco house, you’ll have to keep doing it since the paint will peel over time. This means you’re not only committing to the cost of painting stucco once, but several times over the course of your home ownership.
Alternatives to Painting Stucco
Painting your stucco isn’t your only option if your current stucco isn’t meeting your needs. Here are some alternatives to consider:
Repair the Stucco
If you’re considering painting the stucco simply because it’s cracked over time, you can also choose to patch the cracks and retain the current color of your stucco. On average, stucco siding repair costs $1,600, but pricing really depends on the extent of the repair work and whether you choose to DIY or hire a local stucco siding repair contractor.
Install New Siding
It’s possible to install siding on top of existing stucco, which opens up many options. Popular siding choices include vinyl, wood, and metal.
Any kind of siding installation, but particularly over existing stucco, is difficult work. Always hire a licensed siding contractor near you to tackle jobs of this size. On average, the cost to install siding runs from $11,500 to $5,575, but the cost varies significantly depending on the type of siding, the surface area of your home’s exterior, and local labor rates.
Should You Paint Your Stucco?
Still not sure if painting your home’s stucco is the right option for you? Consider the following to help make the right decision:
Are you thinking about painting the stucco because you want to freshen up the exterior or change the color entirely? Painting the stucco is a great idea, but you can also install new siding entirely if you’d prefer.
Are you thinking about painting the stucco because there are some cracks? It’s probably cheaper to patch the cracks than it is to paint the stucco.
Are you thinking about painting the stucco to protect against mold and water damage? Painting stucco can be a great option for these purposes.
Are you on a tight budget as a homeowner? Painting stucco is costly, and it will make stucco repairs more expensive down the road. Consider cheaper alternatives, like isolated patching for your stucco.
Frequently Asked Questions
Painting over stucco could be a good idea if you’d like an entirely different color for your home or if your stucco is largely cracked and faded. Painting also helps prevent moisture from entering cracks, which could lead to mold and mildew growth. Depending on the paint you choose, you may also add an extra layer of waterproofing to your home when you paint the stucco.
Once you paint stucco, you’re committing to painting it every five to 10 years. Why? Because paint on stucco will start to peel over time. Repainting is the only way to keep it looking fresh. Stucco itself is a long-lasting siding material. When well maintained, stucco can last from 50 to 80 years.