Stucco Restoration After Hidden Water Damage

The brief

The owner called about cracking on the south and west elevations. Two other companies had quoted a patch and a repaint. He wanted a third opinion before spending the money.

What we found

We opened a small area at the worst crack before quoting anything. The weather barrier behind the stucco had been lapped the wrong way over roughly half the elevation, so water running down the drainage plane was directed into the wall rather than out of it. There was no kick-out flashing where the garage roof met the wall — a part costing a few dollars whose absence had soaked that corner for years.

Sheathing was wet across a large section, with framing damage in two bays.

What we did

Patching would have hidden all of that and failed again within a few years. We opened the two affected elevations, replaced the damaged sheathing and framing, installed a correctly lapped weather-resistive barrier, and added the missing flashings.

Then three-coat stucco, with the scratch and brown coats given their proper cure before the finish went on. We matched the existing texture on sample boards and got sign-off before touching the wall.

The result

A larger project than the owner wanted, and the right one. The elevations that were not damaged were left alone — we do not sell whole-house work to fix half a house.