SUBJECT: THE TROUBLE WITH STUCCO OVER WOOD FRAME

The following photos are an illustration of the trouble with stucco. Cracks are trouble. Especially in certain areas and especially on older stucco homes.  Any stucco home in our area is fraught with risk. We will never be able to eliminate ours and our customers risk. We should however, be able to distinguish between common cracking and cracking that needs immediate attention and/or further review.

The story:  An inspector saw a horizontal contraction joint above the rear lanai that was separating from the plaster at the top and bottom of the contraction joint.

This crack does not look too big or large, but you should know that a crack that’s 1/8 of an inch wide and one inch long is equivalent to a hole that is as large as the diameter of a pencil.

 In this case there was some poorly repaired stucco cracks at the header below. This plaster was bulging because water entering the wall at the contraction joint above had nowhere to drain. The Oriented strand board beneath the stucco swells, decays and pushes outward, causing the stucco to crack and break. 

Gifford Kennedy was hired to take a destructive look at the stucco. After removing a small section of plaster we discovered this damage.

The sheathing above the contraction joint was fully intact while the sheathing and header beneath the contraction joint was fully decayed.

This repair will cost someone 3-5000 dollars to repair. Total repairs will depend on several factors that will not be fully discovered until the plaster is removed and determinations on how the wall above will be supported during the header removal.

I want all of you to be aware of the trouble with stucco and I want each of you to share this with your fellow home inspectors, Realtors and if needed with your home buyers. 

When you see repaired cracks at corners and at corner beads at headers (over lanais) and garage doors it will beneficial to be able to describe the potential for failure. The above illustrations may help illustrate the potential defect and only destructive testing can determine the scope of any damage.

Charles S Gifford