How To Repair Stucco On A House

Proficient DIY advice on how to repair stucco siding, including tips on patching holes in stucco, and fixing cracks and stains.

Stucco is a very potent, durable cement-similar siding material but repairs are sometimes needed for cracks and holes.

Though you're improve off leaving major stucco repairs to a stonemason or stucco specialist, you should be able to handle fixing most holes and cracks if you have practise-it-yourself experience. The way you make these repairs will depend upon the nature of the damage, such as the size of the hole. Here we look at typical stucco repairs. For information on painting stucco, please see How to Paint Stucco.

Fixing Large Holes in Stucco

Patching large holes in stucco is a job that homeowners adept at basic domicile repairs can handle-though it may exist difficult to create a patch that blends perfectly with the wall unless y'all repaint. If you are not comfortable doing this type of repair, contact a local siding contractor.

If you decide to do the task yourself:

ane Remove loose stucco from the pigsty with a cold chisel and ballpeen hammer equally shown at correct; accident out the dust. Staple new wire mesh over any damaged mesh. Spray with water.

Diagram of a man's hands hammering loose stucco on wire mesh with a cold chisel. — Remove loose stucco, using a cold chisel.

2 Apply the outset glaze of stucco to within one/4 inch of the surface, using a stonemason's trowel or putty knife (stucco should ooze from behind the mesh). When firm, scratch with a blast. Let cure for two days.

Drawing of a man's hand applying stucco using a mason's trowel on a scored layer. — Utilize offset layer of stucco, using a mason'southward trowel. © Don Vandervort, HomeTips

three Apply the second glaze over the dampened first glaze to within 1/eight inch of the surface, using a stonemason's trowel or putty knife, as shown below left. Smooth the stucco and permit it cure for ii days.

4 Apply the final coat over the dampened second glaze with a metal float or mason'southward trowel. Shine flush with the existing surface. Texture as desired, and allow to cure for four days.

5 Paint if necessary. Meet How to Paint Stucco.

HomeTips Pro Tip: For deep holes, build upward the patch with several successive layers, allowing each to dry before applying the next. Match the texture past touching it up with a float or a pocket-size brush.

Fixing Small Holes in Stucco

Hither is how to repair a small-scale hole (less than half-dozen inches wide):

1 Utilise a stiff castor to clean out the pigsty. If the pigsty is too small for a brush, use an awl or nailset to scrape out any loose material. Then blow out the dust (article of clothing eye protection).

2 Apply a new patch of stucco patching chemical compound, using a putty knife. Pack it tightly into the hole and make full most to the surface. Allow this patch to set up up until it is stiff.

3 Utilize a top glaze of patching chemical compound. Use the putty pocketknife to blend the surface of the patch so that information technology matches the wall. And then allow this coat to dry.

Repairing Stucco Cracks

Cracks in stucco are a mutual problem. Stucco, after all, is not very resilient–it'due south made of cement. So when a business firm settles over fourth dimension or shifts considering of heavy winds or earthquakes, the stucco siding cracks. The proper way to repair these bug depends upon their size.

Hairline Cracks

Very fine, hairline cracks are very like shooting fish in a barrel to fix. If they are super-sparse, a coating of acrylic latex paint that matches the siding will probably do the job. If they are a footling too wide for paint to fill the crevices, fill them with latex caulking chemical compound first. Allow this to dry thoroughly, then paint the surface with acrylic latex paint.

Broad Cracks

For wider cracks, apply an all-purpose filler such every bit pre-mixed bridging and patching compound that is intended for stucco repair. When apply this, follow the characterization directions.

Fixing Stained or Weathered Stucco

Though stucco is a very tough surface, it can look weathered and dirty over time. Unlike other siding materials, you shouldn't utilize ordinary house paint to paint stucco because the walls need to "breathe." Otherwise, interior moisture can get behind the paint and cause information technology to blister or peel.

Instead, have the wall "re-dashed" past a stucco contractor. If your stucco is white, a simpler (though more temporary) solution is to accept it whitewashed with a mixture of water and white Portland cement. Information technology's best to have this done by a professional person painter or stucco contractor.

Featured Resource: Find a Pre-Screened Local Stucco Repair Pro