Stucco in Fort Lee, NJ

Stucco is a cladding, not a raincoat. Water gets behind it, and on a properly built wall it drains back out through a weep at the bottom. When that drainage path is missing or blocked, the water stays in the wall and the sheathing behind it goes. That is the whole story behind most of the stucco failures we get called to look at, and it is why we look at the bottom of the wall and the window heads first.

Cracking is the other thing people call about. Hairline cracking from settlement is normal and cosmetic. Cracks that run in a straight line off the corner of a window, or that open wide enough to put a card in, are telling you something is moving or wet. The two need different work and only one of them is a patch.

We install traditional three coat stucco and synthetic systems, repair and patch existing walls, and color match to what is already there. On a repair we are honest about matching, because stucco ages and a fresh patch in the middle of an old wall will show.

On every one of these jobs

What the work covers

Weather barrier and a drainage path behind the stucco, with weeps that work
Lath and three coat stucco, or a synthetic system where that suits the wall
Flashing at window heads, sills and every transition
Crack repair, patching and re coating on existing walls
Color matched finish coats
Repairs to the sheathing behind the stucco where water has already got in

Start to finish

The order we do it in

Find out if the wall is wet

We check the base of the wall, the weeps and the window details before quoting anything, because a finish over a wet wall fails.
Open up where needed

If there is damage behind the stucco we open the area and show you what is there.
Barrier, lath and flashing

Weather barrier, drainage, lath and flashing at every opening. This is where a stucco wall is won or lost.
Scratch, brown and finish

Coats go on in order with the proper cure between them. Rushing this is what causes cracking later.
Color and texture match

On repairs we match texture and color as close as the existing wall allows, and we tell you up front how close that will be.

Stucco questions

Things people ask us

Is cracked stucco a problem?

Hairline cracks across a wall are usually cosmetic. Cracks running diagonally off a window corner, cracks you can fit a card into, or staining and soft spots at the bottom of a wall mean water, and those need opening up rather than filling.

Can you match my existing stucco?

We match texture and color as closely as the wall allows, and we are straight with you about it. Stucco fades and a new patch on an old wall is visible from some angles no matter who does it. Sometimes re coating a whole elevation is the better answer.

Why is my stucco failing when it looks fine from the street?

Nearly always the drainage behind it. If there is no way for water to get back out at the bottom of the wall, it sits against the sheathing. The surface can look perfect while the wall behind it is coming apart.