Easy Way to Fix Stucco Cracks

[@deankay4434]

In the cold upper Midwest, EIFS is common on commercial buildings and many medium to high end houses. One this I did learn that their are two types of product; caulking and building sealant. The building sealant is similar in that is comes in caulking gun tube, but stops there. It is 300% more elastic, comes on dozens of colors and has a high pigment ratio with binders found in auto paint. It won’t wipe of with water. The use EFIS for insulation properties, class-1 Miami Dade county specs with 8oz mesh on the first 8 feet to resist hail and the patterns that lend architectural freedoms. In housing, they wrap it in R14 enclosing the house, noise and greatly reduced utilities bills. R44 is required in the attic but they are doing R68. This adds 30-60 days per years where they get a 3-4 degree temperature swing with no A/C or Heat used. A little different the wire & colored concrete types of a SW stucco look!

[@MikeKlimek]

Wow impressive numbers!

[@deankay4434]

@@MikeKlimek On built on site stick frame, studs are 16” on center. You can see the nail heads and run a chalk line. Using coated screws with 3” plastic caps, they hold 2” extruded polystyrene in place in a 16” X 16” pattern. This give a full or half sheet a 130 MPH wind rating. Scratch the skin with a stainless steel wire brush, then trowel a 3/8” bead of cement coating in a vertical fashion to apply EIFS grade 1” foam board stick into a running bond with 12” detail coated fiberglass mesh around the edges. This gets pulled tight into the field over the foam board with 4’ wide coated mesh. (Here is the difference) The mesh can be 4.2 oz per foot or 8.9 oz per foot. You place two layers of the 8.9 oz mesh into the cement of the field, trowel with a magnizium float until flat, allowing for a 2-3” over lay with the next side of the wall. Working only one area at a time. R14 for polystyrene and R4 for the EFIS grade styrene. You spray the finish topcoat on with a drywall hopper gun, trowel to the desired finish and move. If done with “Cottage” style trim on 45 degree angles with vertical end boards, that last part covers the “Cold Framing” inherent to stick built housing. The corners become R18. The coating is marble dust-chips embedded in pigment and exterior resins. It only fades 2% in 20 years. No more painting. 3/4” gap around doors, windows and soffits leave room for backer-rod and that is where “Building” sealant comes in. Man does it change a house!

[@wagyu_killer]

does the top coat paint shiny when painted on top of the caulk?

[@MikeKlimek]

Not if you are using flat exterior paint

[@hliz8818]

After applying this do you prime the repair with primer.. than two coats of your paint..? Thanks

[@MikeKlimek]

I didn't, although you certainly could

[@ricosrealm]

Why not mix some paint similar to the stucco color into the caulk first and then apply it?

[@MikeKlimek]

Sure you could try that

[@wbwright79]

can you do anything about it, if you use too much DAP, and do not work it in to the crack, and instead just smooth it as a wide finger width seem along the crack, let it dry, and painted over it with a small brush. i ask because I had a painting contractor fix a couple cracks and he did this. now i have some long 1/4 wide lines running through an otherwise stucco'd wall. and it is really obviously bad.

[@MikeKlimek]

That's too bad. I would call him back and ask him to give it another shot, no charge of course. These types of repairs are cosmetic only and a professional should get it better than an ugly 1/4" scar

[@texanleons]

What about Mor-Flex caulking?

[@MikeKlimek]

Sure

[@akashkaranam1865]

Hello I have stucco hairline cracks and also major ones in couple of places. My contractor is saying will open the hairline cracks and will fill with stucco. He says filling with elastomeric caulking makes lines visible. I want to know what is the right way to do it. I am afraid opening the cracks and filling them may make it worse and cracks may come back again. Please guide

[@MikeKlimek]

If they are truly hairline cracks, they may be better off left alone. Many times they are more noticeable after the "repair". If they are larger cracks he is probably right. If he is that confident in the repair, make sure you get a written warranty on his work.

[@sebastianramirez6661]

I'm painting right now with and the hairlines are not going away. I should have elasto-ed them like the larger ones and smoothed it out like he does here.

[@whatsagrinder]

I blame stucco guys for not using expansion joints and cutting corners. I've seen old school union guys do stucco, even thick layers, and it never cracks. unfortunately no union guys on my house, it is less than 4 years old and it needs alot of stucco repairs, some are over 5 ft long, it's ridiculous. where are the craftsman?

[@MikeKlimek]

LOL true that!

[@calisteve15]

I can't even 😂