Stucco cracks

[DonTx]

Can someone help me determine what may be causing this 3 year old stucco to be cracking? I've pretty much ruled out settlement as the cause of all the cracking that was going on. Besides, there was plenty of expansion joints that should take care of any settlement.

This home was a tad over 6k feet and had about 20 stucco cracks around it. Around some of the cracks there appears to be efflorescence. My best guess is that the mixture was off during application.

What do you think?

Sorry about the pics, I thought the cracks showed up better than what they did.

Download Attachment: crack2.JPG

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Download Attachment: cracks.JPG

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[swarga]

It looks like the second floor is wood framed on top of a stucco covered wall. The finish looks like a sand finish. This type of finish is very hard to make look good with conventional stucco without adding extra water. That could be the problem. The wall could also have some deflection. Many people use synthetic stucco for the final coat here when they desire that type of finish. it is more durable, easier to apply and maintain.

I tell my clients; "Stucco, concrete, and drywall, all three of them need water to be installed. When the water evaporates, shrinking occurs, as temperatures raise and fall building materials expand and contract. This movement will cause cracking."

There are two types of concrete, cracked, and gonna crack.

[Scottpat]

Hard to tell from the pictures, but it does not look all that bad. Stucco is going to crack it is just the nature of the beast. On new construction you will also have some shrinkage of the wood framing, and on a second floor you could even have compression cracks develop.

If the material does not look like it is breaking or pulling away from the structure and the cracks are relatively small, a good plaster contractor can make the proper repairs.

[Brian G]

Originally posted by swarga

There are two types of concrete, cracked, and gonna crack.

I've always heard that too, but since I've been in this business (215 years and 3.6 Billion inspections!!!) I've seen 3 or 4 garage floors without a single crack in them...nothing. All of them on older houses. Beats me.

Brian G.

I Seen It, I Swear [:-bigeyes]

[hausdok]

Hi,

Bottom line - stucco cracks. Those look like very fine cracks. The Stucco Manufacturer Association generally advises to not make a big deal of those. Here's a paper that discussed their policy.

http://www.stuccomfgassoc.com/papers/crack.pdf

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Amn]

Also, an elastomeric additive to the final, finish coat will increase the elasticity of the stucco and reduce cracking.

The elastomeric additive is usually recommended for non-concrete substrates.

A