STUCCO NEWS.NET

Thank you for the great informative web site on stucco. I’ve been searching for information on the best way for me to repair the stucco mess left by my 6 year old home-builder’s “expert” stucco repairman and I hope you have the time to answer a few questions.

I have a very long and high wall facing the southeast here in Southern California and it has many intersecting horizontal and vertical cracks. The majority of these cracks are maybe 1/32” inch wide and didn’t need repair but the “expert” thought it best to scrape off the texture coat and reapply it. The builder never told me why this wall is so cracked up and has since completed a Chapter 11 process. So, I’m suck doing my own repairs. He also took it upon himself to repair other walls that I didn’t complain about and they too are peeling.

I have included a few photos so you can see what I’m up against. Virtually every inch of the repairs have either peeled off or is blistering.

I am capable of doing these repairs but want to know the best process. I fog-coated my last house and did a few minor crack repairs and it turned out great!

I am thinking I should first scrape off all the loose texture then high pressure wash the base stucco. Should I then use a polyvinyl acetate before applying the texture? Should I also make sure the base stucco is very wet before applying the acetate and/or texture? I think the reason all the original repair work is failing is because the “expert” didn’t do these things.

If you have done this before, you can do it again. You'll want to mix an acrylic bonding admixture in the finish mortar instead of a paint on type bonder. This way, you won't have shrinkage cracks and have a good bond.

The acrylic will prevent the mortar from drying out before it sets. Dry-outs lead to shrinkage cracks and weak powdery mortar.

We use flex-con or strong bond. If you can't find small quanities, you can find acrylic admixtures for ceramic tile which should work well. You can mix the acrylic half and half with water. This finish was sprayed or dashed on, then knocked down after it set up a bit. A stiff bristle brush will work for this. You may have a plastic bristle scrub brush laying around. You need a bucket of water to dip the brush in and some soupy mortar. I guess in Southern California you probably can find La Habra or another brand of pre-mixed stucco finish. You probably need to get a whole sack and take out a shovelful and throw the rest away. No need to wash or wet the patch with acrylic. Dip the brush in water then soupy mortar and dash on. When the mortar stiffens up you can lightly knock it down with a trowel or a putty knife. The color is the hard part. If you have had good results with fog coat, and can find the color, fog will work if your patch is white. If not, you can paint the patch with a matching color. This is what I would do. Thanks so much for visiting my site.