Stucco Repair / Patching

I have an exterior stucco chimney and there are small pieces of the stucco which have loosened and fell off. It doesn't seem that there was any "underlay" only the concrete blocks used to build the chimney. Besides trying to perfect the finish, how do I assure that the stucco will adhere to the smooth surface of the concrete and not fall off over time.

Thanks

Melissa,
This is very easy. Use the search engine at the top of this page and go read every column where I use the phrase "cement paint".

Can I use drywall mud to smooth out the stucco? Drywall mud seems to stick to anything. Second can I shoot a drywall stucco finish on the repaired area?

Thanks

Steve,
Drywall mud should only be used on drywall. That is non-negotiable.

My dogs have chewed the bottom of my stucco wall on my patio. Is there anyway I can repair this. Can I cut off the bottom to make it even then repair?

Ann,
You can repair it. Read all of my columns on the topic and do some tests to get the right texture.

I,m not a fan of stucco but my shop building has the portland cement stucco. The south facing end has one window and all the stucco is seperating around the window. Is there anything out there that can be applied to seal the cracks and not have to start ripping off stucco and turning this into a larger job than it has to be. Please and thank you. Dennis

Dennis,
Perhaps a fantastic masonry caulk???

My house is approximately two years old. The south facing windows and doors have an approximate four in styrofoam decoractive border that protrudes about two inches. The foam is color coated with an ultra smooth stucco finish. Last winter (we live at 5,500 feet and get snow and ice) the stucco finish on the sills cracked and started to peal off. It was repaired in the summer.
The pealing and cracking is back after another harsh winter and is actually worse.
I had "professionals" do the repair last summer and want to make the repair myself this time.
How can I make the repair so that the stucco/color coat will not peal away from the styrofoam?

Thank you,
Butch

Butch,
I would have to see this to give an answer I am comfortable with.

Hi,
Soome horizontal cracks have appeared on my stucco chimney and there is brown colored stain coming out of the cracks? Do you have any thoughts, I have other cracks around the house and none of them are seeping.
Cindy

Cindy,
My thoughts are that the stains might be from soot in the chimney.

Our house is an "earthship" (a passive solar, off-the-grid home - see www.earthship.com), and the stucco applied 9 years ago has cracked on the parapets and is separating in places from the base coat in hand-sized pieces. I have tried to patch the cracks by troweling in used a liquid bonding agent and bags of the original stucco. Similarly, I've applied bonding agent to vertical flat surfaces and applies the stucco. But, after a Coloradi winter of freezing/thawing nights and days, the cracking and flaking reappears. it's as though the stucco must be repaired every summer. Any thoughts? Thank you, LYLE

Lyle,
Read all of my columns where I use the term "cement paint". That is the secret.

I have stucco on the front of my home. I noticed that I have a small piece of stucco (1" x1") that has been damaged and broken off. It is directly on a corner seam and appears that my front screen door or something must of banged up against that L seam. You can't see it unless you point it out but it does expose the wire mesh so leaving it probably is not the right thing to do. What's the best way to fix it? I don't know anything about stucco. If it was wood, I would just putty it up with caulk but not sure if that can be done on a stucco finish. What happens if I just paint it and leave it?

Mark,
Simply follow the advice in this column and all of my others ones that deal with Patching Stucco.

We just put an offer in on a house that needs some stucco repair- around the base of the house, and needs to be repainted. It's about 1200 sq ft with a garage. We're trying to figure out about how much this project would cost, ballpark. Better to leave to a proffesional?

I had someone apply Dow 795 sealant and they tooled it unto the EIFS. Is there a way to remove this or repair this without removing all the EIFS? Is it possible to brush EIFS on top of the sealant?

Hi!

I am tackling some stucco repairs on our house this summer. The house is then being repainted so matching color isn't an issue. I have plastering experience so I think it's a doable thing but I have two questions.

1. Someone had patched some cracks in the past but they patched it and 'smoothed' over it and then painted without really never texturing it. What is the best way to texture this to make sure that the new stucco will 'stick' to the previously painted patch?

2. There was a foundation issue in one corner of the house and the stucco became 'offset' by 1/4-1/2" or so. The foundation has been fixed. Now I need to patch this offset (feather it/smooth it out). Again, I will need the new stucco to 'stick' to the existing in some areas. Suggestions?

Thanks much!
Joe

My house exterior is stucco. I had some hairline cracks and I used the stucco patch, primer, and then painted the entire house. The color was not changed. Now, after a few weeks I can see the patches and it’s darker than the rest of the house I painted. I did a patch test and tried to use another stain primer but no luck still see the stains. Now the patches are cracking. How can I fix this problem? Help!!

Dear Tim: I need to recoat a patch of stucco approximately one foot square. The texture that was used originally is called "Spanish" texture. How can I duplicate this texture ?

I have a stucco house that was built in 1937. A home energy audit indicated that there is little or no insulation in the exterior walls. We are having insulation injected from outside (airkrete) which will leave several 2" diameter holes. How best to patch these holes?

When my house was built the builder extended the stucco al the way to the ground. Now termites have entered the house from behind the stucco. I need to remove 4-6 inches and re-adhere back to the foundation. What tools are best used to remove the stucco? What is the best means to seal it back?

We have an old "shop" which we use for storage. The stucco has broken out around some of the corners of the windows. Is there an easy way to fix this--some kind of caulk, for example. The house was built in 1914. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Good Morning:
Can a portland stucco (Cement) be repaired as needed instead of replacing the whole wall of stucco? How can stucco be restored? Can spray wash with water make it look cleaner as there has been some water stains in some areas? Of so, How often?Thank you.

the siding on my home has separated from the stucco along the corner of a wall. how can i anchor the siding back to the wall and what needs to be done to keep it water proof?

Thanks
Scott

I am repairing a stucco wall that has glass rock on it. What is the best was to make the area I am filling look similar to the old stucco. What type of rock should i use? What will the rock stick to best? we will be painting the wall after.

thanks

We are enclosing a screened in back porch with a frame wall that has drywall on the interior. The other 3 walls are a rough textured stucco like on the rest of the house. We would like to have an orange peel drywall texture on all 4 walls.

I've been told I can do any of the following, but am pessimistic. What are your thoughts?

1. Put a bonding agent over existing stucco and put a smooth skim coat of stucco over existing. Then spray on drywall mud to the stucco for the orange peel effect.

2. Apply some Concrete glue to the existing stucco and while it is still tacky, apply joint compound to make a smooth surface. Then spray on the drywall mud for an orange peel effect.

Do we have any other options besides ripping off the existing stucco and lath and putting up gypsum board?

Thank you,

Whitney

After the hairline crack has been finished, how do I get a seamless match to the final texture - painted with elastomeric paint. My biggest problem is that the hairline cracks are flashing through my finish.

My property is governed by HOA Dominant/Servient tenament rules with a 0 lot line between my front neighbor and myself. This past winter their metal gazeebo was pretty much bent to hell and was pounding against my stucco wall leaving a 8" long by perhaps 1/2 " deep area/groove in my wall. I got an estimate from a Construction company, however the homeowner thought it was too expensive and until recently her daughter agreed to pay the cost once I send her the quote; however now the Construction company has told me the job was too small and they weren't interested. I would like a professional or someone who is good at performing stucco repairs like this to do the job, however I'm not sure what the best way to find someone reputable for this job is? Can you provide some advice on how I can find someone willing to do this small repair for me who is reputable?

How do I repair about 250 1" plug holes that were drilled to add insulation in my stucco siding? The stucco texture is really heavy. I also have another 3 x 4 ft area where a window was taken out and need to match to heavy texture. Thanks

Greetings -

I find these articles to be very informative. I have a 100 year old stucco home with a very rough texture, much like the texture featured on your photos in the cement paint session.

My stucco has a lot of hairline cracks, most less than 1/8 an inch in width. I saw that you suggested a high quality silicone caulk for filling purposes. Would the concrete caulk in tubes also work, or would this be prone to further cracking?

Due to the recent tropical storm FAY and the rain it brought with it, I had water seep in from the floor (laminate) in one bedroom and a closet. In another room the carpet got wet and mold developed in the trim around it and part of the wall. I called the builder and I was told that this water must have come from hairline cracks that it did not come from the floor. Is this true?

Please help me I don't know who to contact. The concern is that it will happen again since I live in Florida.

Any advice provided will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I have stucco exterior on my house that is approx 30 years old. There are some cracks, and a few places have the colored stucco missing. How can I fix this without having to restucco. can i paint over the stucco to change the color?
Thanks
Shawna

I have decorative styrofoam pieces covered with stucco. they stick out about 2 inches from the regular stucco walls. differnt color too. I had hail damage this spring. this caused dents and dings in the decorative stucco. Can this be easily repaired and painted?

I live on Long Island, NY near the ocean. My stucco home is concrete block on the first floor, and wood framed on the second. The house is 77 years old. The stucco is coming off in small patches (golf ball to tennis ball size) where the stucco seems to have turned to powder. The stucco surrounding the fallen patch is also very powdery. Is this a patch job I can do following your directions, or is it something more serious that needs a professional.

Hi Tim,

We applied the stucco scratch coat to a section of our house that we renovated throughout last weekend.

All was going excellent until we did the last 4'x3' section. We were not as good with the misting in that last section on a hot day (we were so happy we were done we went out for a long dinner at 3 pm <sigh>)and that left a number of small (less than 1/8" cracks) throughout that section by the time we came home later that night.

You indicated above to use a high quality siliconized acrylic caulk to fix small cracks. Will this cause any issues with the up and coming brown/final coat of stucco and its adhesion?

Thank You and keep up the excellent articles - without them we would never have tackled the stucco work ourselves.