Who to Call for Stucco Repair
Don’t get stuck with subpar repairs
If your home's stucco is falling apart, the danger is more than cosmetic. Severely cracked or deteriorating stucco can allow moisture and water to pass through your home's walls. The results are rot, mold, water damage, and potential foundational damage. Use this guide to who to call for stucco repair to get the right pro on the job quickly.
Benefits of Hiring a Stucco Expert
When you hire a local professional stucco service to repair damaged or deteriorating stucco, the team will have the expertise and skill to make sure the job gets done properly. They can match any stucco updates to your home's existing stucco type, color, and consistency. Stucco pros can also inspect all of your stucco to look for signs of deterioration or damage that you haven't noticed.
While timeless and durable, stucco is an extremely temperamental substance that needs to be handled perfectly to avoid serious damage to your home. When stucco is improperly repaired, it's very easy for moisture from rain or melted snow to become trapped. When this happens, that excess moisture will eventually begin to seep through your home's walls and ceilings to cause severe rot and water damage.
But when it’s properly installed and maintained, stucco will last 50-80 years. That's why approaching this project in the right way is so important.
Can I DIY Stucco Repairs?
Stucco application is quite difficult because of the nature of stucco. In fact, the complexity of stucco application is one of the downsides when discussing stucco pros and cons. As you may already know, stucco is a dense construction material made from water, aggregates, and binders that are designed to harden soon after a wet application. Materials need to be handled perfectly to ensure that stucco dries correctly. In addition, stucco application is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that requires multiple layers. Unlike DIY projects that allow you to go at your own pace, stucco application requires a dedicated time window. For these reasons, stucco repairs are best left to the pros.
Can I Hire a Painter for Stucco Repair?
Some painting contractors do have the proper training to offer stucco repairs. It's common for house painters to perform minor stucco repairs when completing painting projects. However, house painters generally do not have the expertise or licensing necessary to fix complicated or extensive stucco damage. That's why it's best to contact a local stucco service capable of handling stucco projects of all scopes.
How Do Stucco Pros Repair Stucco?
Experts approach this project differently based on how badly the stucco has been damaged. The amount of time it takes to repair damaged stucco can also vary based on the size of the damaged area. A stucco pro should go over all of the steps that will be taken when providing you with a quote for stucco repair cost. In most cases, at least some of your existing stucco will need to be removed.
1. Remove Damaged Stucco
Don't be surprised if stucco needs to be removed even if you only need to repair a few small holes or cracks. Crumbling stucco is removed to make it possible to apply a new smooth stucco layer. In order to remove stucco, a pro will spend time chiseling away loose or damaged stucco while being careful not to damage the wood lath underlayer.
2. Add New Mesh Lath
Pros protect the newly exposed area with building paper to create a moisture layer. This delicate step involves inserting roofing nails into the wood lath.
3. Apply the First Layer of Stucco
Pros mix stucco by hand to create the right consistency for your project. They generally make a batch that's only large enough for 30 minutes of work because of the quick-drying nature of stucco. A trowel is used to cover the mesh lath to create what is known as the "scratch" layer.
4. Apply Subsequent Layers
Generally, two more coats called the second coat and final coat are applied after the scratch layer. Stucco must be smoothed out to create the desired finish. Once the final coat is applied, drying time can last up to four days.