Stucco ??

[Erby]

I don't see much stucco around here. Any pointers on what to tell the client other than get a stucco inspector.

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[kurt]

Pic 7....that whole soffit is probably a pile of rot. I suspect (know) there's patches of rot scattered all over that sucker. You don't need a stucco inspector; you could can that thing with confidence.

[Marc]

I'd use language along these lines and skip the recommendation for a stucco inspector.

I didn't see any expansion joints in the stucco. They're needed when you use cladding as unforgiving to movement/deflection as stucco. The cracks prove that the marriage between the stucco and the structure has failed. Remove it all then either do it over the way the product manufacturer recommends or choose a different type of cladding. Leaving it as is invites expensive moisture intrusion issues later.

Don't need to hire a stucco inspector to tell the buyer what you already know.

Marc

[John Kogel]

I think it depends on the age of the house to some extent. Younger than 15 years or so, I'd be inclined to condemn the work more. For an older house, some cracks are to be expected and there are good repair people here in my area. Maybe not so much in Kentucky.

I would certainly call for repairs, with a warning that there could be hidden damage to the sheathing and structure, depending on exposure to the elements.

[Douglas Hansen]

We have lots of stucco here, and have been using it for close to 100 years. Of the thousands of buildings I've looked at with hardcoat stucco, I can't recall one that was quite as FUBAR as yours.

The texture they were attempting is called a trowel sweep. It is supposed to be applied in two layers over the base coat, and be troweled in such a way as to leave a narrow ridge or bead at the edges of the fan shapes; whoever did this applied it way too thick and I can't imagine that any of the curing times or conditions were correct.

The only good news is that the staining below the horizontal crack indicates water emerging from it, which implies there is some sort of WRB behind this mess. I wouldn't go so far as to bet on flashings. Perhaps when they tear it off the walls they won't be completely damaged.

[kurt]

When we tears those things open, we always find WRB, but scrapped together. The "rot" is usually big black circles at all the compromised WRB locations.

The black creeps up into the insulation and the back of the drywall is always fuzzy.

Petrie dish architecture.

[hausdok]

Hi,

It's pretty bad; you don't have any accessory beads or expansion joints anywhere and you can see where the expanding stucco has pushed the trim. I've inspected plenty of houses with old type stucco applications that go all the way to the ground - down the framing and wall and over/onto the foundation. Lots have that horizontal crack like in photo #2 and when I get underneath in the crawlspace I find where water backed up behind the stucco because there's no drainage plane at the stucco-to-foundation transition has overflowed the foundation beneath the sill into the interior of the foundation - usually causing substantial rot.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike