How Do I Prepare My House for Stucco?

Getting ready to apply some stucco to the exterior walls of your home? While the process of stucco application is important to get right, it can be just as (if not more) important to focus on properly preparing the walls for the application of that stucco. The better your prep work, the better the end result is likely to be once you’re actually working on the stucco.

With this in mind, here are some tips from a stucco contractor in Bluffton, SC about how you can prepare your home for stucco application:

• Consider the substrate: You can apply stucco over brick or masonry walls, or on top of wood sheathing. When working with an existing masonry or brick wall, you’re going to first need to use some fresh mortar to repair any cracks that exist, then wash the wall with a power washer (or use a trisodium phosphate-water mixture and scrub it). The wall should be thoroughly wet before you apply the first coat of stucco. With wood or cement-board/OSB sheathing, it’ll be a little more complicated. You’ll need plenty of galvanized stucco lath and galvanized fasteners before you get started.
• Building paper: The first step you take will be to hang a double layer of building paper, starting at the bottom of the wall. You should have each layer overlap by at least four inches over the one below it, and vertical seams should overlap by six inches or more. The paper should wrap around corners at least 16 inches, and should be fastened in placed with galvanized roofing nails or staples.
• Install trim: Any trim accessories should be installed with galvanized nails as well. You’ll at least need a weep screed along the bottom of each wall, as this is the piece that allows moisture that collects behind the stucco to drain out and avoid causing damage underneath the stucco layers.
• Install galvanized lath or netting: Next, you should fasten the netting or lath to the wall, using galvanized nails or staples that are long enough that they’ll be able to penetrate the studs at least an inch deep. You should space out the nails or staples by six inches—no more, no less. Overlap the horizontal seems of the netting or lath that you hang by an inch, and the vertical seams by two inches.

Once you’ve completed these processes, you’ll be ready to begin mixing and applying the stucco. Be sure that you go back and inspect the substrate prep work you accomplished before you actually start mixing the stucco. This will give you a chance to make sure you’ve done everything correctly. Once you start applying the stucco, you’re not going to be able to go back and make any corrections, so it’s important that you double check your work while you still have the opportunity to do so.

For more information about prep work for stucco, contact Spring Construction to speak with a stucco contractor in Bluffton, SC. We look forward to working with you soon!

Categorised in: Stucco