It all start at the begging right?

A builder buys the land,  get the blueprints for what supposed to be your dream house and start to build it.

When we talk about  stucco, stone failures, mold and  water damages,  most of the times in general we talk about poor construction practices. Most of this issues could have been avoided if  builders and contractors in general not only know their trade but also the needs of others when installing their construction products  or doing their work preparing each area the way it should be prepared for the next contractor. The best way to know  if an stucco or stone cladding are failing is by doing an invasive moisture stucco and stone test, inspectors  come to the property do a visual inspection, test  for moisture, document everything and  put everything together for you as a home owner,  your realtor  for those selling and buying scenarios , your lawyer  in case of a litigation and  finally  to us remediation contractors  in what is called The invasive  stucco or stone  report.

If you are experiencing stucco or stone issues you may or should  know  that when an stucco inspector  is hired to do moisture testing around a property  they have specific targets on where to drill  and test for moisture levels, but what  are those targets and why are they so critical?

This  specific targets  we are about to mention could be less or  more depending on the age, over all construction  and shape  of the property. The list below contents the most common reasons why stucco fail.

1. Each corner of a window  sill
2. Each corner of a door sill
3. Where a vertical wall meets the end of  a roof ( Kick Out Flashing Diverter)
4. Where a chimney wall meets a roof
5. Below the chimney shoulders/hips
6. Below a dryer vent, electric outlet or any other possible water penetration.
7. Below an installed deck
8. Proper transition between  stucco and any other dissimilar material such siding, stone, brick or concrete.

In new construction when a house is build normally either the builder, the framers or the window &  door companies are the ones that  are in charge of installing the windows and doors,  all windows eventually  may leak there is no doubt about that but  is the window’s installer  duty to  make sure that the  installation  of the window  or door is properly perform by installing the necessary materials and do it in a manner that  the water will be  discharge  out of the building and in the event of a window leak  the water will not penetrate the sheathing and wood structure resulting in mold damage.

Water most be able to drain  when a window and door  is properly installed.

Is also the  stucco contractor duty to notify the builder if they see something wrong with the window or door installation. Windows are one if not the main reason  why stucco  and stone installations always fails.

Is the stucco & stone contractor duty  to properly install the construction paper below the windows  and doors. When a window is not properly installed or the  construction paper is not properly install below the window,  the water resistant barrier  (paper) become useless   mainly because  every time the wall gets wet, water that is coming from the top will run behind the paper and not on top of the paper like it should in order for the water to drain properly and the paper to do its job , resulting in water not able to drain becoming  trapped and  later with the time a moisture problem causing  mold and deterioration of the  sheathing.

Missing kick out flashing diverters  are the second main reason why an stucco or stone system fails, this molded one piece  of plastic or welded one piece  of metal  most be installed where a vertical wall meets  the end of  a roof  near the fascia board where the gutter later is installed.

As the name suggest Kick out Flashing Diverter  helps to kick and divert  the water out

When a kick out flashing diverter is installed, water that is coming from the roof will  be diverted towards  the gutter and not into the adjacent walls. Is the builder’s duty to make sure that either the roofers  or the stucco contractors properly  install this  key construction  product at the beginning of the roof’s aluminum L  flashing  row to guaranty  a successful stucco, stone or even siding installation.

As far as the chimney flashing goes  is the  builder’s duty to  make sure that the roofers install a flashing that is tall enough to  actually protect the chimney  from the rain and the constant water  that is coming from the top of the roof  and  protect the wood  sheathing during winter time when the snow builds up.

Flashings in general are very important for a successful stucco and stone system

When roofers prepare this wall to roof joints, roofers and builders most take extra steps/precaution in terms of flashing this  critical spots to make sure that the flashing does what is intended to do and work properly.

Is the stucco contractor  duty to notify the builder or roofer if the chimney’s flashing does not meet criteria.

Until today chimney shoulder hips are always under  estimated when stucco metal lath crews install the water resistant barrier,  the personnel at Rene Munoz Plastering LLC  is aware of  the  damage that can be caused when hips/ shoulders of the chimney are not properly wrapped and  seal, we know the importance of taking extra precaution when we wrap a chimney  or a home in general.

Is the  stucco contractor duty to make sure that  the  exterior corners of the chimney shoulders/hips are 100% seal or  the entire hip protected by a shingle or metal roof, as another choice contractors can install a piece of stone slate/flagstone with a minimum overhang of 1 1/2″ on  both,  front and side of the hip.

Chimney  shoulders/hips are the third reason why an stucco or stone installation  fails

Is  also the contractor’s  duty to  install a kick out flashing diverter  at the  lowest interior corner  of the chimney hip/shoulder to diver the water out of the walls.

Extra precaution most be used when the  stucco metal lath crews are installing the water resistant barrier membrane over this critical spot.

Dryer vents, electric outlets, light fixtures and pipes are no different than a window  or any other opening around the house,  first is the builder’s duty to make sure that this openings  and fixtures are always seal from inside to outside. Is the contractor’s duty to treat each of this fixtures as a window, starting to seal from the bottom  to the  top,   we at Rene Munoz Plastering  know how critical this spots are and we always  install a piece of azek trim around pipes, electrical outlets, light  fixtures and all necessary opening to  cap  and later seal them.

All exterior openings and fixtures should have a proper water management system

Is crucial for the  exterior fixtures, outlets, boxes and pipes to have a proper water management around them

In the Tri-state area is very common to see decks installed directly to the  Rim Joist  by using screws  without a proper water management. Is the deck’s installer or builder’s duty  to install a water resistant barrier  membrane  and a rain screen behind the Deck’s ledger board as well as  a Ledger  board Drip cap on top to  prevent water to drain behind the deck’s ledger board resulting in moisture.

Paper most be installed behind the Ledger Board and a drip cap  flashing on top

When a drip cap flashing is not installed over the deck’s ledger board,  water can run behind and  create moisture and mold damage to the rim joist  and anything that is below , specially when a house is tall.

Builders and contractors still don’t understand the importance of a proper transition between stucco, stone and siding with other dissimilar materials.

• All joints between two different substrates should be  properly  seal for expansion and contraction to prevent future cracking and/or  water penetration.
• All joints between two different substrates should be properly flashed to  prevent contact between one material to another as well as  provide a proper drainage  between claddings,.
• All joints between two different substrates   should be properly  over lapped to prevent water leaks ( paper always have to be overlapped a minimum of 6″ )

Flashings and silicon caulk are very important

Maintenance of  all joints  whether  they are aluminum flashings, copper flashings or caulk   they all play  an important roll when we talk about stucco, siding and stone problems. This flashings normally protect the transition between one material to another acting as a bridge for water  to flow and drain.

As we already mention depending on the age style and shape of the property inspectors will focus in different particular spots/ targets when  performing an invasive moisture test. To help with the already posted picture above,  the gallery below has some more samples of the  most common  stucco issues that we already mention  in this article.

Stucco and stone are materials of deceptive simplicity: in most cases its repair should not be undertaken by a property owner unfamiliar with the art of plastering, exterior waterproofing and exterior cladding installations. Successful stucco  and stone repairs requires the skill and experience of a professional.

If  you  are  in need of a professional contractor, looking for an installer, an specialist,  experiencing stucco, siding or stone  problems, feel free  to contact us, we will be more  than   glad  to help you, answer  all your questions, take you by the hand to solve the moisture issues that your property may have, assist you  with your buying/selling situation or better yet educate you to  prevent any possible stucco & stone water damage.