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I
have read everything you have done on your web-site since July.
I still have a few questions. We bought our stucco home 5
years ago; it was
two
years old at that time. The inspector mentioned that there were
some
cracks, though did not recommend any fixing.
1. Do the
cracks
have to be a certain width to be of any significance? Do they
have
to be in a certain position (ie leading from a window or door
frame?).
2. Talking
of window
frames, we have noticed that there is some brownish stain running from
the bottom corners of some of our
windows, but not
all.
Is this a problem?
3. As we
are not
the original owners of the house, do we still have recourse to the
builder
and/or his insurance company if a
significant
problem arises,
and what is the usual time limit for this - 10 years from construction,
20, 5?
4. We live
in Minnesota,
the land of extremes, however we are English, where stucco houses are
seriously
outnumbered by brick
ones, so we have
absolutely
no experience of this siding. A friend of ours mentioned that
stucco
applied during the very cold
winter months was
more
likely to cause problems later on. Is this true? Our house
was finished in April, so I presume the stucco
could well have
been
applied in winter.
I would
appreciate your
expert advice.
Stucco is likely to crack, we have found
ways
to reduce the cracking to very few or none,
but
it still is
likely to crack.
Hairline cracks form over the windows and
doors
because
it is the weakest spot in the plaster
membrane.
These should be of no significance, because
water
is absorbed
into the stucco before it reaches the
substrate.
I would think
these are probably less than an eighth of
an
inch and are nothing
to worry about unless the stucco is loose
underneath.
Stains will happen. This material stains
easily
like bricks and
concrete. This is probably from the lumber,
or
maybe the
paint was applied in cold weather. To
prevent
stains, you
need to get to the root of the
problem.
If you had any freezing, it would show
up as delamination
(mortar popping off) or effloresence(
mortar
bubbling up
and powder on the surface. Usually, the
stucco
contractor has
better sense than to apply materials when
there
is a danger
of freezing. Up north, people will build
heat
tents to work
outside. I just wait until it's warm Here
that statute of repose is 1 year, except
in fraud
( I think). Still, there is no guarantee
against
cracks.
It sounds like everything is all
right.
Your stucco should last 500 years or
so.
Don't worry. Be happy.
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