If you’ve noticed damage to your stucco siding, well-meaning friends may have suggested painting and patching the area as a simple, cost-effective solution. Unfortunately, this common misconception can cost you big in the long run. Initially, painting may seem like a great fix, as the area will appear restored. Sadly, this will be short lived as it is merely a cover-up, not a long-term fix. Continue reading to learn more about stucco failure and repair.
Original Construction Lacked Quality
Today’s communities seem to pop up overnight; thus, it is unsurprising that the quality of construction in housing developments has steadily declined over the years. Simply put, many contractors are out for themselves, seeking to maximize profits in the shortest amount of time possible.
This results in shoddy work that looks good for a few years, and then quickly fails as it was done incorrectly and lacks durability. Sadly, many homeowners will realize their stucco is failing within ten years of purchasing a brand-new build.
While you may have purchased your home for what seemed like a great deal and a short time frame, this comes at the price of inferior materials and unskilled labor. Thus, it is no surprise that stucco fails quickly on many properties.
Climatic Contributions
The way stucco siding functions is a simple concept. Whenever it comes into contact with prescription, it absorbs the moisture, drains, and then the rest evaporates. This simple concept works well in a myriad of climates; however, it can present problems for those in areas that vary widely in weather conditions, such as sudden freezing and thawing.
In these climates, the water may freeze before the stucco has fully dried out, causing damage due to the expansion of water when it freezes.
When this occurs, the stucco may crack severely leaving the underside vulnerable to water damage, rot, and mold. Thus, failing to fully address the issue and slapping a patch/paint over top of the damage will only provide a very temporary fix. Water will still get behind your stucco, freeze, expand, and break through the patch/paint you applied. If you are lucky, you may get one year out of a patch job before the damage resurfaces and must be addressed.
Avoid Patching and Painting
In climates with sudden freezes and thaws, cracks can become quite severe, spidering down through large sections of your stucco. When this occurs, patching it up a bit with caulking will only hide the problem for a short time. Often the patch will fail, and even more damage befalls your stucco, making a correct repair costlier and more time consuming.
Painting your stucco will create another set of problems. While it may be tempting, stucco was never intended to be painted and painters will not stand behind their work as they can’t.
With no warranty, when the inevitable problems arise you will be stuck with the full cost of repairing your stucco. Many paints in essence create a seal that does not allow water to evaporate from the stucco like was intended. Thus, when water does infiltrate around home openings, it gets trapped, freezes, and causes breaks/cracks to develop in your stucco. Typically, a paint fix will last a maximum of two years before failure.
Do yourself a favor and allow a reputable stucco repair company to fix your stucco right the first time. Avoid spending more and permanently damaging your stucco by allowing the experts to fix it instead of relying on band-aid fixes like patching and painting.
