STUCCO NEWS.NET

October - 2023 - Accokeek, Maryland

Who could build houses like this ?

Stucco is falling off the wall on this house built in 2011. The metal lath has rusted to a thin film.

Here's what I wrote about chinese steel in 2012:

The building supply where I bought this tie wire in 2012 was sending back their metal studs because they were rusty. At the time there were only 4 manufacturers that were certified by the federal government for metal lath. Fortunately, I never bought any cut rate lath in this time period.

Wall is loose and wiggly. Rust can be seen through the cracks and holes.

We work on houses over 100 years old where the metal lath is still in excellent condition. A lot of chinese steel was going around in that time period on metal lath and metal studs. It is possible that this lath was made for interior use but I doubt it. Painted lath for interior use was discontinued and only galvanized lath was made by manufacturers in the 1980's.

I found a large housing development in Virginia with one coat stucco where the lath is failing. These were built about 2010, when cut rate lath was taking over. More about these houses later.