Stucco Repair Phoenix can give your home the look of elegance and quality when it’s well-maintained. Unfortunately, though, like all building materials, it also has its drawbacks. If you have stucco siding on your house, or if you’re thinking of having stucco siding installed on your house, there are several things you need to know. In fact, understanding how stucco works will go a long way in saving you money when it comes time to replace it. Here’s a short guide to stucco repair:
What is Stucco Repair? Stucco repair essentially refers to the process of locating specific cases of stucco flaking, repairing these issues, and replacing the affected material with fresh stucco, usually from another source. In a nutshell, stucco repair simply means that you repair the physical damage, not the underlying problem. For example, if you’ve noticed a large crack in your siding, your first impulse might be to patch the crack – which isn’t such a great idea. Patches of untreated wood tend to rot, and the wood eventually weakens and splits, leaving permanent holes and cracks.
Repairing existing cracks in stucco is often quite difficult because the cracks must be centered on the wall they are supposed to cover, and the damage must be located inside the wall, between the cracks. For example, let’s say you have two small cracks in your exterior siding. If those cracks are located directly between the rafters and the home’s exterior walls, repairing them would be impossible. The damage would have to be repaired within the walls, where the crack is.
For more complicated repairs, such as those involving the use of stucco using a chisel or hammer, it’s essential that the entire area be prepared for repair. Without proper preparation, such repairs can be very time-consuming and problematic. For example, let’s say you have found yourself with a crack in your exterior siding that is simply too large for a chisel to adequately seal and repair. Without removing the loose pieces, hammering the loose piece back into place will result in an unsightly, crooked seam. In this case, it would be necessary to repair the area using large steel clamps, then fill in the newly repaired seam with new mortar and patch the crack, as previously described.
Other types of minor repairs include minor damage to paint, molding, or bonding, as well as some wire brushing. For example, suppose you have noticed a small gap in the siding between your patio and house. Rather than fill this gap with mortar, or use a cement-based caulk, you may decide to instead use a hot chisel to smooth out the gap using a sander. While this will solve the immediate problem, it will also leave a very small opening where water could enter. If you use a cold chisel to do this repair, however, you can be certain that no moisture will enter your home through the gap, and it will close quickly once the gap is sealed.
Other types of repairs include things like replacing cracked or broken stucco panels, repairing and replacing cracked rubber float tiles, repairing and replacing missing rubber float tiles, repairing broken or cracked plaster masonry, repairing and replacing broken or cracked tile roofing tiles, repairing and replacing missing caulking, repairing and replacing cracked plaster masonry, etc. As with any job, it is important to plan ahead and prepare the area beforehand. By preparing the area prior to repair stucco work, you will ensure that there are no materials such as mortar, tar, or grout that can build up, and you can avoid further damage to the area. For example, if tiling is being replaced, it is important to check to see that there are no tiles that have broken or become dislodged, as these can cause more issues, requiring stucco repair work later down the line.
In addition to protecting the area in which you are doing the repairs, you will also want to protect yourself from the elements. In particular, you will need to protect yourself against any wildlife damage that may occur when doing any stucco repairs on an outside area. Common wildlife damage includes things such as sparrows and woodpeckers picking up the new stucco as they nest and other birds and animals such as rats and squirrels droppings. You will often find rodents inside old stucco, especially if there is an opening large enough for them to enter. If the area has any wildlife damage, you should consider sealing it to prevent any future damage from occurring.
Once the repairs are complete, you will have a waterproof surface and a nice smooth surface to work with. Rapid set stucco patching is relatively simple, but there are a few things you should keep in mind as you move through the process. Rapid set stucco patching may seem like a simple process, but it does take time and patience to do. The most important thing to keep in mind is that in the long run, you will want to pick a different color paint than you originally had. The reason for this is that different weather conditions will make the color of the paint fade.