Stucco Makes a Strong Home

Hello, My question may seem strange, but I had noticed that there was water coming into my house at the base of one of my walls. Fortunately, I was doing some interior remodeling and tore the drywall out in that area. At that point, I saw that some of the felt paper had holes in it, which I am assuming is from the mere age of the house. The question is, is there a way of sealing the house from the inside out, or am I going to have to tear the stucco out on the outside and attack it that way? Your advsie would be helpful, thanks

Scott,
To give you the answer you want, I would have to visit your place for a detailed visual inspection. You need to do testing to locate the place where water is getting behind the stucco. It could be as simple as a failed caulking joint around a window or a door.

We own a Stucco company in Western North Carolina, and my question has to do with cracking. I there a preferred way to prevent or reduce cracking in exterior stucco in residential homes?

Tommy,

You bet, and you may not like the answer. Today's lumber is too wet. I feel you need to get the house framed, under roof and the water barrier installed on the outside. Then let it dry for at least 60 days. Inside mechanicals can be installed, but NO drywall...... The framing lumber needs to shrink......

I assume you are doing the right mixes so the fault is not too much water in the mix.......

I really enjoy reading your articles.

I have an older stucco home (50 years). A few parts of the stucco wall were bubbling outwards along a horizontal lines and cracking. I had it repaired quite late in the season (October 2007). The outside temperature at the time was ranging from 10c during the day to about freezing at night. I have now noticed that there are a multutude of small, hairline cracks in the repaired portion of the stucco. I would like to paint the house this year. My questions are: (1) is the stucco still curing, given that we have just gone through winter, and (2) what is the significance of the cracks in the stucco? Will it get worse or is this normal? I can't help but notice that the old stucco does not have these cracks.

François
Ottawa, Canada

Hello, I was wondering whether one can place cement stucco over unpainted brick? Also, is there a downside to using Stucco in Michigan weather? I've heard there are a lot of advances in Stucco that can accomodate the cold and wet winters...

Amy,
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan