So you bought a stucco home and it looks fantastic. Just absolutely stunning. But now you are wondering how to keep it that way. While there is no such thing as maintenance free, you can follow these tips to keep your stucco home low maintenance and beautiful for years to come.
- Keep sprinklers away from your freshly primed and painted stucco. When water gets on the stucco then dries, it can create some not pleasant “chalk” marks. We know that rain storms are unavoidable, but do the best you can.
- When painting your stucco, use a heavy and thick roller and make sure to work the paint into all of the nooks and crannies. This is the time in your life where more is better. Apply the paint liberally and avoid spray-paints. You want a nice thick seal to lock out moisture.
- Speaking of paint, put a new layer of paint on your home at least once every 10 years or so to keep your stucco protected. Paint acts as a nice sealant. Stucco isn’t waterproof but paint makes it. The paint will also give your faded stucco a fresh new look. You will need a primer if there is a lot of raw or fresh stucco exposed.
- Fix cracks immediately. If there are small cracks, use caulk and not paint. Caulk is more elastic and will move with the cracks if they expand which in turn will help keep water out. If the cracks are larger or there are chunks missing or damaged, call us to get them fixed right away. Water can be nasty element. It can easily erode the crack and make it larger and if it freezes, it will guarantee that the crack will morph into a hole.
- Be careful about vines. Although they can look pretty they can also actually grow into your house’s siding and cause damage.
Follow these 5 quick tips and you’ll be enjoying your stucco home for as long as you live there and beyond that.
n you can. When you hire cheap, you are not paying for their reputation, their certifications, their knowledge of buildings codes and laws. The expensive part is when the damage or issue isn’t truly fixed 100% or the remodeler skipped many corners. Then you have to make the call of shame to the contractor you said no to for costing too much. Here is the kicker, every time we receive those calls, it breaks our heart because when we go back to see what has happened, not only do you have to pay for the work that was originally supposed to be done, but you also have to pay to get all of the mistakes removed. So it may cost less up front to hire cheap but it will cost you much more in the long run. Remember you get what you pay for.
So you’ve called around, got a couple quotes, have a start date, signed the contract, and payed the down payment. Now what? Do you have to prepare at all? Should stuff be moved? What about your flower beds next to the wall they need to fix? Here is a quick check list to make sure you are ready for your contractor and their team to come and improve the value of your home or office. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. Talk to your contractor and see what they will need and what they request.