A Stucco Failure - Lessons Learned and How to Fix!

[@forreal245]

Matt Risinger...Thanks for your shows. I am learning so much, mainly that it scares me to death to even consider trusting a builder.

[@SpencerKelly93]

I think you should be careful classifying the back of the house as a "stucco failure". That was a window and window installation failure. Not a proper pan-flashing and the most consistent deterioration of sheathing was off the bottom corners of the windows. The stucco on that home also appears to have an acrylic finish (which would be consistent with a 20 year old home). This means that the stucco is even better at repelling moisture and, in the event of incidental moisture making its way to the brown coat, would have to completely saturate all 3/4" of cement in order to POTENTIALLY cause a problem. Part of the idea of a brown coat is to drain moisture with the flow of gravity. All cementitious products naturally do that. Saying that this was a "stucco failure" makes for a good video title but a slightly misleading one as well. You are spot on about air gaps helping to keep substrates dry. This is partly why stucco companies have been installing "drain mats" (Like a Mortairvent) behind their lath. To provide a minimal space for incidental moisture to make it's way to the nearest flashing and out away from the building.

[@luke9822]

I would love to see the replacement install details for the stucco window. What are the best practices when dealing with the existing tar paper and lack of an air gap when replacing.

[@woodconceptsdm]

Great Videos Matt. I look forward to them every week. One thing I would like to see you cover is the difference between the natural stone on this project, laid on a brick ledge vs a cultured/man made product that is back buttered and applied directly over the housewrap and wire mesh. As you can imagine this method has lots of issues but is cheap & fast and track builders seem to love it. The average homeowner can't differenciate between cultured stone with no air gap or drainage plane and a real stone veener. I think lots of homeowers would say "I have stone not stucco so I have no problems." The cultured stone can cause all the same problems as the stucco when not install properly, which unfortunatly happens all the time. I guess you can figure we'll never run out of work fixing other contractor's poor building practices.

[@weber247]

Weep holes, ss flashing under wood silicone caulk no worries. Might help to change the sprinkler heads to something with less pressure against the house.

[@RegineAteliers]

Or weep screen that goes the length of the wall.

[@sladeoriginal]

Always great information Matt! If I move to Austin I know who will be building my house!

[@buildshow]

Very welcome

[@YesYouAreAbsolutelyCorrect]

Hi, Matt. Is there any possibility for you, to make a review of some of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses? I know, it's not kind of your specialization, but that would be extremely interesting to see, from the builder's point of view, how they lasted through the years. And it would be also amazing, if you can review some of his older (prairie, or even earlier) houses, and later, usonian houses. It will provide the perspective on how the technology evolved in the first part of the XX century. I don't now if there's a chance, but that is so interesting to now, how those houses were actually built. Love your channel, thanks for the good stuff!

[@jeremyrohn7308]

I second this!

[@roofer850channel4]

I'll bet a dollar that those windows won't last one generation.

[@melanieaway]

why

[@flightmedic7169]

You’re so knowledgeable this video was amazing. I’m going to be replacing windows in my home and they are arched on stucco, I want to do it myself and will be cutting stucco and your ideas as far as flashing goes. Hopefully everything turns out ok

[@richardparker8048]

I have been showing quite a few homes in Austin and have seen 20 year old vinyl clad windows failing or rotting in many homes. One common thing I observed was the failure of the builder to make sure thier subcontractors paint the bottom of the window frames. All the lower windows are rotting in these homes. If it's Anderson you can replace them but matching and replacing them is expensive. You were dealing with rotten sills on this build.

[@blahblah50035]

Matt, the air gap comment is well received, but to be complete doesn't the air gap need to be "vented" at the top and bottom of the wall? Or is a closed off air gap OK?

[@foresakentonone4148]

The Stucco did not fail...the window did...rotting out...thus allowing water intrusion...Flashing, and caulk are huge!!!

[@HumanLobster]

Great job doing it in one take, a true professional! I was wondering throughout the video how you'd get the air gap with stucco but you solved everything haha!

[@biggfacts8638]

Its called a water table and you rise it about 1/8TH INCH TO ROLL THE WATER OFF AND YOU HAVE TO USE FLEX TAPE , CODE IS BLACK ROOFING PAPER APPLIED FIRST OVER RAW WOOD THEN TYVEK OR HOMEWRAP

[@brianschnell5096]

As always, great info. Thanks.

[@nickmyer3597]

wouldn't a weep screed have solved that problem?

[@ArneJohanssonMpls]

So true on that. Great video.

[@chunghsu2659]

Hi Matt, new subscriber to your channel but long time fan of your videos....I came across this video looking for a solution to fix water intrusion issues on my stucco house and wanted to know if you can repair sections of a stucco house without completely removing all of the stucco...thoughts? The house is very contemporary with no overhangs and unfortunately, conventional construction with true stucco on metal lath on 2-layers of 15# felt on house wrap. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[@jfarinacci0329]

good content. good vid. thank you.

[@AW4WAL]

Here's a thought, Cmu construction.

[@tomdayton3399]

Could that repair of the rot behind the stucco under the windows get covered by insurance? I just discovered I have that same issue in my 20 yr old Florida stucco home. It would be nice if it was covered but not sure if they say it’s a maintenance issue. Looks like a builder issue.

[@jackmewhalle6937]

I'm going to have to politely disagree with some of what you say. I've been doing this for 43 years. The reason the the stucco rot is more severe is because it is hugged up to the wall water don't drain down and hit the ground like the stone and the break. But it's not from the the stucco sucking up water. Not true. What's going on is somewhere around that window on that corner you had a leak either the outside of the window against the stucco was not caught or the window itself and it's corners were leaking we deal with this all the time we go in on plastic and aluminum windows and we caulk the corners of the windows if you keep water out stucco is just as good as brick or stone but you must keep the water out. The part where you're right is yes it has a reservoir to run down that's why it doesn't rot .. but it's not because stucco is a sponge yes it is but it dries out relatively quickly. It's because there was a leak around the window or the window itself.

[@jeboccuzzi10]

EIFS (back then) No drainage plane, not a rainscreen.

[@maxbarajas4590]

Looks like the major problem here are cheap wooden windows not being maintained every 3-5 years. The wood windows being built now are not made from redwood or other durable lumber.

[@randymathews3348]

I don't use osb at all, not even on subfloors. Cheap bs. Spend the money on ply and proper water proofing

[@michaelstiller2282]

Stucco failure? I am not convinced.The rot was only around the windows, which is why they only repaired around the windows. They didn't remove all the stucco, meaning the rot was isolated. Stucco needs an elastic calk, when it terminates against anything that is not stucco. The calk needs maintenance. 20 years later, the calk failed. On the front of the house the wood sill is resting against the stone. It's problematic because the side of the sill that faces the stone is just primed, if it has been primed at all. Good chance the under side of the sill has no sealer,(primer,) or paint,(membrane.) Meaning the wood is soaking up water,(from the stone,) and is trapped, because all the other surfaces are painted. The wood can't breathe.

[@trickyrick8621]

Yep if the window frames had been primed and painted (Membrane) before the original install the rot would have been prevented. As you also mentioned the calk Failed at some point and helped to contribute to the rot. I will bet money Matt didn't paint or do anything to the new wood frames section either .... what a shame :( In 20 years maybe the next contractor will get it right. Hes nothing more than a parrot.

[@OOpSjm]

Richard Campbell , windows are aluminium clad

[@trickyrick8621]

Ian Powell - Ok, so whats your point?

[@dominickthompson7090]

Yes caulk has to be maintained but even if/when the caulk fails, the water getting in should be able to run behind the veneer and out the bottom through the suggested air gap, in addition to proper flashing/waterproofing. In that case the water could've escaped and not rotted out the ext sheathing, which is a much bigger issue than replacing a rotten sill or brick mold.

[@tonyz5336]

I agree. He said the stucco was applied over a double-layer of tar paper. The video shows him cutting away tyvek, not tar paper. The OSB rot is from water getting around the window trim. You can see the window nailing flanges are not flashed properly. This guy knows his shit for the most part, but I think there was some bad editing involved in this video.

[@Humiliatusservus_Altissimo]

Densglass with a waterproofing over it

[@ruthlessreid9172]

Who would use Osb on house that expensive?

[@LincolnLog]

The builder has to get his pound of flesh from someone.

[@Sequel7]

Stucco cannot be used in states where it’s raining a lot

[@greg925911]

Mat can u show the air vent on bottom an top an how do u keep the bugs out with drip edge

[@normahinojosa5389]

I have a Historical wood siding home and would like to use Block would I block over the old siding or tear off the old wood before blocking for siding?

[@ahughes238]

We just pulled out 7 of our Aluminum Clad wood Marvin's because they were all rotting! (We have 24 more of these specific windows we have to replace). While I'm normally in agreement with you, I wouldn't hold my breath on those Marvin's lasting Generations. :-( I would NEVER install Marvin's.

[@johnlynch8174]

What you have there is window failure, not stucco failure. The windows were improperly install from the start, and more than likely not properly maintained.

[@NewWaveSports229]

you realize that even stone veneere is supposed to have weep holes

[@Korror96]

Why not try plastic or metal window!?

[@ericnavas4277]

The stucco don't had coucaulking around the Windows sir

[@andreaberryman5354]

I thought stucco is supposed to be applied to chicken wire, not straight to wood.

[@biggfacts8638]

And all seams weather taped

[@michaelbrody6695]

Hi Matt - any experience with stucco failures on Zip System sheathing? I’m not sure I see the need for a rain shield behind stucco if it’s going on top of a Zip sheathing system; but I am not an expert. Definitely see the need if anyone is still using OSB.

[@RotaxXS]

The Zip system OSB is actually very close to commodity OSB (vs. Advantech Subfloor & wall OSB); Huber simply coats the 7/16 OSB with the ZIP system coating. In my experience air-gap is always a great idea (except for Vinyl siding which is leaky - air ) The zip coating is very thin, and fragile. With any type of reservoir cladding (Brick, Stone - cultured/thin-cut/6", Stucco, and to some degree fiber-cement board.) Rainscreen products are not cheap. I recently used Keen's product on a medium sized home with a front brick elevation; the cost was almost $800 just for the product. At a min. I would never apply a reservoir cladding directly to ZIP with a secondary wrap.

[@sirpurrcival]

I have a different situation where this wouldn't necessarily work. I live in a wet climate (ocean), with high wind loading. 50mph during storms. That creates a high pressure loading on the face of the house and literally would push moisture up under a sill or through the ends where you might have a blob of silicon to protect the edge of that sill. In my case, we had no choice but to seal the front of the house much like you would a boat. Simply put there was no option to let moisture in around the windows because it would simply migrate inwards due to the pressure differential on the outside of the house to the inside. In the end, we had to come up with a system that would keep all moisture outside the stucco around the windows. Our local building code which mandates sills was simply inadequate to the challenges provided by our local setting. If we had built according to code, we would have been inviting a problem. The method we settled on was a three part barrier which included rabbited trim sealed to the out side of the stucco and in the recess created to access the flanges of the old window. Underneath that was a high grade rubberized sealing tape that was also caulked along it's edges and which will channel any moisture that may find it's way behind the trim. Fortunately the window heights were designed to place the top of windows very close to the soffits which helps to keep those areas where water might sit dry. It was a solution that was endorsed by a city inspector (on the quiet) and the original builder who has been constructing homes in that environment for 30 plus years. I was just extremely lucky to find a window company that knew that the situation needed a special approach for an extreme condition set. Sometimes building codes aren't always right.

[@WelshRabbit]

Modernizing a Tuscan???? HERESY!!! I'd be wanting to turn it into a 16th Cent. Palladio or a 17th Cent. Inigo Jones. First, off with those déclassé rocks and on with limestone.

[@seanm3226]

This not a stucco failure. It’s an OSB failure. Surprise, surprise.

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

Those "high quality" window's are mostly finger-jointed pine. They are expensive garbage, almost always rot to nothing

[@josecolorado1429]

Do we need air gap on a brick foundation in Texas ??? Any one ??

[@jeffproulx3388]

Easy fix. 500 pounds of caulking. The key is to brush it on thick then spray it on thick.

[@biggfacts8638]

I was a stucco guy for years boss of the wire crew , foreman for a footer company certified chimney sweep, brick block stone mason tile blah blah blah

[@mountainbikerdave]

is that a kershaw leek?

[@aliciasierra4972]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@Sailor376also]

BS !! Sorry Your seeming automatic leap to air gap jut does not satisfy. The two most likely sources,, aside from rain,,, are sprinklers first and foremost. And the real close second,, dependent upon where and climate, Condensation. Modern cooling systems can chill a window or inner wall to the point where the warm and humid outdoor air condences at the dew point within the layers of construction,, or the outside of a window. By the same token, here in Michigan, you want to know what the furnace humidifier is set at. I absolutely cannot describe the number of times I have seen soaking wet walls and skylights,,, soaking wet from the water pumped into the air by the furnace mounted humidifier. The rot damage positions you showed, bottom corners of windows, I'd first being running the sprinklers. Also,,,, a pet peeve,, OSB,,, rubbish.

[@worldadventureman]

Matt seems to talk like he knows it all, but most of it I've seen from him is total BS. I'd say looking at those leaks that it didn't matter if you had an air gap or not, the owner let the window sills fail to the point they were letting water in and down the sheathing.

[@kerrygwebster]

0:50 - who put that poor kid in time out.

[@ericsanchez5638]

Kerry Webster Funny

[@forreal245]

Kerry Webster...He stays in "time out"...he's an illegal.

[@mr.wizeguy8995]

So your residential house building is becoming more and more European way.

[@ernieforrest7218]

Well Matt if you live long enough you will find out if your theory is correct.

[@jitz17]

It’s not a stucco failure. Sounds like a drainage failure.

[@jeffproulx3388]

Its time to put the tools down lol

[@josephescamilla7172]

Wsg

[@lesstarling9806]

Your details failed not the stucco.....stucco has been installed "face seal" for 50 plus years with no problems. Where I come from (west coast) we repair Condominium buildings built in the last 20 years the failures are at details....water does not go through the field they all fail as per your video ...corner of windows doors etc....details. Take care of those you will have no problems.

[@Fedgery007]

American homes are built so cheap. They’re built to last 20-30 years it seems.

[@ericsanchez5638]

Stucco Sucks big time....

[@are6mr2]

Naw, it' mainly the installers and lack of details and proper water management that sucks!. It start with the Architect designing the correct system, then up to the builder to make sure the installer does it correctly. Stucco is a cladding, it's not what's meant to water proof your building. If you wrap the building properly and allow for drainage, stucco will perform great with very little maintenance.

[@juliandelgado1572]

He ya no idea what he’s talking about 😂😂😂😂

[@richgrifin958]

How is this a STUCCO failure? You're showing all masonry!!!!

[@jimaros69]

learn to build houses that dont glide to wind... European houses get that kind of damage when in war not by sprinklers...

[@paulbnhd]

What is " Glide to wind " ?

[@jimaros69]

@@paulbnhd To fly unpowered, as of an aircraft