# Stucco home.....buy or not



## fredw (Mar 7, 2013)

One of the homes I'm looking at tomorrow is a stucco home.  Great looking house, floor plan and price..... but...............it's stucco.

I've had no first hand experience with stucco but have heard of issues with moisture behind the stucco.

What should I be aware of and concern myself with?


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## Wild Turkey (Mar 7, 2013)

1st order of business is;
is it real stucco or effis.
Real stucco has a backing, wire mesh, and several coats of real stucco.
Effis is a 1-2 coat application over foam board substrate.
Effis is the problem child due to water penetrating the foam backing and rot.


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## humdandy (Mar 7, 2013)

Wild Turkey said:


> 1st order of business is;
> is it real stucco or effis.
> Real stucco has a backing, wire mesh, and several coats of real stucco.
> Effis is a 1-2 coat application over foam board substrate.
> Effis is the problem child due to water penetrating the foam backing and rot.



My house has the foam backboard with applied stucco over it, we've never had any problems.

I was told the bottom of the foam board must be a certain height off the ground in order to breathe.  We have a concrete subfloor and the bottom of the foam board is on average a foot above the ground level.

The house is 18 years old located in SE Ga.


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## sinclair1 (Mar 7, 2013)

If its hardcoat rest easy, if not get it inspected by a stucco specific inspector.


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## Wild Turkey (Mar 7, 2013)

Humdaddy I agree.
The problem is a lot of people installed the dryvit or effis systems that didnt know what they were doing. 90% residential.
Most problems occur around the bottom, windows and doors.


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## humdandy (Mar 7, 2013)

Wild Turkey said:


> Humdaddy I agree.
> The problem is a lot of people installed the dryvit or effis systems that didnt know what they were doing. 90% residential.
> Most problems occur around the bottom, windows and doors.



I keep an eye on it and was aware of the problems before I bought the house (about 13 years ago).  Knock on wood everything seems to be fine.


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## Wild Turkey (Mar 7, 2013)

Any cracking around window areas or door areas. Caulk with clear silicone. Typically the window areas and door areas are built up to look like moulding. Thats where the water gets in.
Tops should have a metal drip cap to shield it.


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## blood on the ground (Mar 7, 2013)

I'm a little  here but I do have a question..

I purchased a stucco home last spring, we had it inspected and it came back with good results. The inspector told me the color of the house is mixed in with the stucco and that we would never have to paint? Can this be true?


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## sinclair1 (Mar 7, 2013)

blood on the ground said:


> I'm a little  here but I do have a question..
> 
> I purchased a stucco home last spring, we had it inspected and it came back with good results. The inspector told me the color of the house is mixed in with the stucco and that we would never have to paint? Can this be true?


It will need a paint job eventually after the crack repairs start looking bad, but I have seen some 20 year old houses that are still not painted. The paint adds protection to the repaired areas.


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## fredw (Mar 7, 2013)

sinclair1 said:


> It will need a paint job eventually after the crack repairs start looking bad, but I have seen some 20 year old houses that are still not painted. The paint adds protection to the repaired areas.



Tell me about the crack repairs.....something to expect?


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## blood on the ground (Mar 7, 2013)

sinclair1 said:


> It will need a paint job eventually after the crack repairs start looking bad, but I have seen some 20 year old houses that are still not painted. The paint adds protection to the repaired areas.



this one was built in 1988 and as far as i know it has never been painted.


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## humdandy (Mar 7, 2013)

blood on the ground said:


> I'm a little  here but I do have a question..
> 
> I purchased a stucco home last spring, we had it inspected and it came back with good results. The inspector told me the color of the house is mixed in with the stucco and that we would never have to paint? Can this be true?



We painted our house a few years ago, no problems at all.

We've never had a crack in our house.


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## sinclair1 (Mar 7, 2013)

fredw said:


> Tell me about the crack repairs.....something to expect?


 The most common cracks are around the front door, especially if it has a heavy brick front porch pulling and settling, around the windows too. Not anything to worry about as long as they are small, just put some caulk in there.  Most of the trim work is foam as is those coins they use on some(those square accent pieces in the corners) I own a hardcoat stucco home and had one prior and will never go to anything else.


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## blood on the ground (Mar 7, 2013)

sinclair1 said:


> The most common cracks are around the front door, especially if it has a heavy brick front porch pulling and settling, around the windows too. Not anything to worry about as long as they are small, just put some caulk in there.  Most of the trim work is foam as is those coins they use on some(those square accent pieces in the corners) I own a hardcoat stucco home and had one prior and will never go to anything else.



Wow, that is reassuring! I was very afraid of the stucco.


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## sinclair1 (Mar 7, 2013)

fredw said:


> One of the homes I'm looking at tomorrow is a stucco home.  Great looking house, floor plan and price..... but...............it's stucco.
> 
> I've had no first hand experience with stucco but have heard of issues with moisture behind the stucco.
> 
> What should I be aware of and concern myself with?


If memory serves you are around cherokee county, if thats the case make sure to check the pipe from the street, One of the big builders around here used alot of polybutelene and its been replaced in the house in alot of cases ,but the pipe from the street might not have been as I have seen this in several I have looked at around here.


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## GoldDot40 (Mar 7, 2013)

If you have the foam board with stucco, you need to inspect it every year...or have a pest control company do it...for termites. They absolutely LOVE the foam board, almost as much as wood. Definitely, make sure it's not touching the ground anywhere.


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## Too-Tall (Mar 7, 2013)

There was a time when stucco was installed over foam and the foam sheathing ran from the walls, down the foundation, and below grade. This gives termites a perfect path to infest the structure. There is a retrofit where a cut about an inch wide is made in the foam to break up the route from below grade up the wall. This space is then painted/sealed over.
A qualified inspector with a $2000 FLIR tool is needed to locate hidden water damage behind the stucco. The same water damage could be behind "real" stucco, EIFS, brick, stone, or siding.


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## westcobbdog (Mar 7, 2013)

I have been around many stucco houses and the biggest thing is if it's  "Eifs or Hardcoat" how was it installed? Eifs is good product when applied corrctly and well maintained. Was it properly and expertly installed? Caulked and flashed? Properly mantained? 
In some areas Stucco still has  stigma with agents and buyers. Other markets in Atl., no or very little issues. Stucco has superior R value and can be a great exterior finish. Problem is if water gets behind it, it is trapped, it won't breath like brick. So also beware of termites..there is a termite every 5 ft in Ga. Also make sure Seller gives you a "repair and retreat bond" or transfers existing one over. Be very wary if no treatment has taken place or no bond in place! Get a good agent, they are free to you. A good agent knows potential issues or gotchas with inspections or Stucco most people don't or wouldn't know, until they happen to them. Didn't catch the age of home..if older, the home has a high chance of water intrusion and or termites in the past. Also if older it could have the triple crown of issues: poly pipe, LP siding and Eifs stucco!


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

Wild Turkey said:


> 1st order of business is;
> is it real stucco or effis.
> Real stucco has a backing, wire mesh, and several coats of real stucco.
> Effis is a 1-2 coat application over foam board substrate.
> Effis is the problem child due to water penetrating the foam backing and rot.



Nothing wrong with EIFS. It's the lack of flashng details that gave EIFS a bad name, same thing can and does happen with hard coat stucco.


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

sinclair1 said:


> If its hardcoat rest easy, if not get it inspected by a stucco specific inspector.



Don't rest easy if it is hardcoat. Hardcoat stucco has plenty of problems .


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

fredw said:


> One of the homes I'm looking at tomorrow is a stucco home.  Great looking house, floor plan and price..... but...............it's stucco.
> 
> I've had no first hand experience with stucco but have heard of issues with moisture behind the stucco.
> 
> What should I be aware of and concern myself with?


Fred, take some pictures, roof to wall intersections, window perimeters, rake board to stucco junctures, etc. and send them to me, kinda tough with just a visual but I may be able to give some advice.


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

humdandy said:


> I keep an eye on it and was aware of the problems before I bought the house (about 13 years ago).  Knock on wood everything seems to be fine.



Any roof to wall intersections? Are there any kickout flashings there to divert water into gutter?


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

blood on the ground said:


> Wow, that is reassuring! I was very afraid of the stucco.



I inspect stucco homes for moisture intrusion, 95% have moisture issues.


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

Too-Tall said:


> There was a time when stucco was installed over foam and the foam sheathing ran from the walls, down the foundation, and below grade. This gives termites a perfect path to infest the structure. There is a retrofit where a cut about an inch wide is made in the foam to break up the route from below grade up the wall. This space is then painted/sealed over.
> A qualified inspector with a $2000 FLIR tool is needed to locate hidden water damage behind the stucco. The same water damage could be behind "real" stucco, EIFS, brick, stone, or siding.



IR is good for an energy audit and "may" assist in a moisture inspection with a big temp. differential, but it has no penetrating ability.The stucco needs probing. The sheathing behind the stucco should not get wet.


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## Resica (Mar 7, 2013)

westcobbdog said:


> I have been around many stucco houses and the biggest thing is if it's  "Eifs or Hardcoat" how was it installed? Eifs is good product when applied corrctly and well maintained. Was it properly and expertly installed? Caulked and flashed? Properly mantained?
> In some areas Stucco still has  stigma with agents and buyers. Other markets in Atl., no or very little issues. Stucco has superior R value and can be a great exterior finish. Problem is if water gets behind it, it is trapped, it won't breath like brick. So also beware of termites..there is a termite every 5 ft in Ga. Also make sure Seller gives you a "repair and retreat bond" or transfers existing one over. Be very wary if no treatment has taken place or no bond in place! Get a good agent, they are free to you. A good agent knows potential issues or gotchas with inspections or Stucco most people don't or wouldn't know, until they happen to them. Didn't catch the age of home..if older, the home has a high chance of water intrusion and or termites in the past. Also if older it could have the triple crown of issues: poly pipe, LP siding and Eifs stucco!



Hard coat stucco absorbs water like a sponge. It's a reservoir system. The key is proper water resistent barriers, sealant joints, control joints, flashings, weep screeds,etc.


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## Ronnie T (Mar 8, 2013)

Lots of stucco in Florida and we consider it to be low maintance and long lasting.  And, probably won't ever need painting as long as mildew, etc is removed often.


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## shakey gizzard (Mar 8, 2013)

Resica said:


> Hard coat stucco absorbs water like a sponge. It's a reservoir system. The key is proper water resistent barriers, sealant joints, control joints, flashings, weep screeds,etc.



Capillary action!


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## murf (Mar 10, 2013)

I live in a dry and low humid climate than yours. Our stucco house was built in 1955 and still no problems even with some earthquakes thrown in.


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## wildlands (Mar 17, 2013)

I am looking at a house that has EFFIS siding and has water damage at the bottom. This is a forclosure and the price is starting to get right to consider a bid if I can get some answers. Was wondering if anyone had ever removed the stucco siding and replaced it with real or with Vynal siding and does the cost of removing it make it practical.


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## jesnic (Mar 17, 2013)

If there is water damage behind the drivit, the studs are probably warped. Adding siding will foloow the warped studs and look like a vertical ocean of waves.


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## Resica (Mar 19, 2013)

wildlands said:


> I am looking at a house that has EFFIS siding and has water damage at the bottom. This is a forclosure and the price is starting to get right to consider a bid if I can get some answers. Was wondering if anyone had ever removed the stucco siding and replaced it with real or with Vynal siding and does the cost of removing it make it practical.


I'd get a moisture inspection if I were you.  If there is water damage at the bottom, it probably came from above.


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## Resica (Mar 19, 2013)

shakey gizzard said:


> Capillary action!



Good ole capillary action.


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## wildlands (Mar 19, 2013)

Passed on the house, to many unknowns and with what I could see I figured there would be a lot of unknowns.


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