In one of the previous articles we discussed stucco, dryvit, and the advantages of stucco over dryvit. If you missed that article and would like to know what these advantages are, we recommend you to read it: www.link.com
Stucco is an extremely strong and very reliable kind of material that’s been used by millions of people. Nevertheless, even the best quality stucco requires to be maintained regularly and appropriately in order to avoid its degradation. Issues with stucco may be various; however, there is one in particular which happens to be most common of all, and that is – cracking.
Cracking can occur for numbers of reason, including extreme weather conditions, accidents, and age. If you face the cracking issue with your stucco, we recommend that you read this article until the end and find out how you can repair and remediate the stucco. Firstly, let us tell you how you can tell if your stucco needs some help or not.
How Do I Know If My Stucco Needs Remediation
A number of indicators that help you identify the stucco issue vary, considering that there are different symptoms by which you can identify the issue of stucco cracking. Here is the list of the most common ones:
- Brown streaks or stains under the corners of your windows
- Brown streaks or stains at the intersection of roofs and walls
- A smell of mold in your home
- Damp or wet carpet/flooring
- Discoloration at the base of your window
- Leaks in windows and doors
What To Do If You Identify Any Of These
If you have identified one or more of these, it means it is time to take some action and protect the rest of the stucco areas from being affected. First thing you need to do is to identify the direction of the crack. If it spreads horizontally, it is probably a minor issue and you can go ahead, read this tutorial and try fix it yourself. However, if the crack spreads vertically, we recommend contacting a professional since it is very possible there is an issue with the foundation.
So, if it is a minor issue, follow these instructions and you will be good to go.
1. Identify the stucco color. It can be either that the stucco was painted, or it has remained in its natural color.
- Painted stucco. This would be an easier way, since after repairing the stucco all you need is to paint it again using the same color as it was applied before.
- Natural color stucco. It is possible that the stucco changed the color over the years, so what you need to do is experiment with the mix of new stucco in order to get the desired color, e.g. in order to match the color of new stucco with the one of damaged stucco. This way your entire area will match again.
2. Order a stucco caulk. Apply the caulk onto the cracks, and smooth it so that the area around the crack matches the rest of the area. After that, you paint the ‘new-stucco-area’ so that you cannot see the difference between that and the rest of the area.
If the crack appears to be large, then once again we would advise that you call for professionals if you are not completely sure that you can do it yourself.
Professional Assistance
There are a number of companies which offer their assistance. If you live in greater Philadelphia area, Delaware County or Montgomery County, then look no further than Murtagh Bros. Inc. 18 years of experience with stucco repairing and remediation has been a guarantee to professionally take care of your stucco issues. The skilled constructors from the Murtagh Bros. Inc. do not only fix the issues on the surface. Instead, they do investigation in order to determine whether there are some major issues behind the cracking. They will eliminate any possible further issues and make sure the construction of your home is safe.