How do I know if my stucco needs more than a patch?

Stains that come back, soft spots, cracks wider than a credit card and rust marks are all signs of water behind the finish. A patch will not fix those. We test the area first and tell you what we found before you choose.

Can you match the texture and color of my existing walls?

Usually, yes. We sample the texture on a small board and mix the color against a dry, shaded part of the wall. On an older house that has faded unevenly, a recoat of the whole elevation can look better than a perfect patch.

Do you work on siding and trim as well as stucco?

Yes. Exterior work covers siding replacement, trim, fascia and the flashing that ties them to windows, doors and the roof. A stucco repair often needs a trim or flashing repair at the same time.

Stucco and Exterior Repair for Houses Near the Water

Hairline cracks, stains below the windows and paint that will not stay on usually start with moisture behind the wall. We find the source, then fix the skin.

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What the coast does to a stucco wall

Stucco is a hard shell over building paper and lath. Near the ocean that shell gets wet from fog most mornings, dries in the afternoon sun, and takes salt with every cycle. Small cracks open at window corners and along the line where two pours met. Water that gets in through them sits against the paper, and the metal lath behind it starts to rust.

The outside often looks fine for years while that happens. The signs show up late: brown streaks under a window, a bulge you can press with a thumb, a sill that feels soft, paint that bubbles on the same patch every spring.

Patch, recoat or restucco

These are three different jobs with three different prices. A patch fills a crack or a damaged area and blends the texture. A recoat puts a new finish coat over sound stucco to seal small cracks and even out the color. A full restucco removes the old system down to the framing, replaces the paper and lath, and builds the wall again in three coats.

Which one your house needs depends on what is behind the finish. We open a test area or take moisture readings where the stains are before we recommend anything, so you are not paying for a recoat over a wall that is wet inside.

Details that decide whether the repair lasts

Most stucco failures come back to the same places: the flashing at the top of windows and doors, the weep screed at the base of the wall, and the joint where a deck or a roof meets the siding. A patch that ignores those spots cracks again within a season or two.

We replace or add flashing where it is missing, keep the weep screed clear of soil and paving, and use control joints on long walls so the next crack happens where we planned it. Color is matched on site against a dry section of the wall.

Stucco & Exterior: questions

Stains that come back, soft spots, cracks wider than a credit card and rust marks are all signs of water behind the finish. A patch will not fix those. We test the area first and tell you what we found before you choose.
Usually, yes. We sample the texture on a small board and mix the color against a dry, shaded part of the wall. On an older house that has faded unevenly, a recoat of the whole elevation can look better than a perfect patch.
Yes. Exterior work covers siding replacement, trim, fascia and the flashing that ties them to windows, doors and the roof. A stucco repair often needs a trim or flashing repair at the same time.

Stucco & Exterior by city

Tell us about the cracks

Say where the cracks are and which walls they are on. If photos would help, we ask for them when we reply, so we can tell you which of the three jobs it looks like before anyone visits.

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