Avoid cracking on new stucco walls, add your deadweight before the finish coat.
Hello friends, who have new homes built to avoid cracking on new stucco walls?
Add your deadweight before the finished coat. Discussed in detail below.
Allow me to share some learned stucco knowledge about hairline cracking on existing and new stucco homes.
I am a forty-year plastering contractor with a YouTube channel with over a hundred thousand subscribers in the last ten years, plus close to 900 videos with over 40 million views globally. In addition, I’ve responded to over 40 thousand people worldwide’s comments to answer their interior or exterior questions.
All interested or frustrated by hairline cracking on your new or existing stucco home.
Before I answer the extended version of why homes and or buildings crack, I must first say all homes, whether wood or exterior cement plaster or stucco, expand then constrict.
So the question is, how will it affect the stucco on your home?
FYI, “hairline cracks are cosmetic and do not affect structural integrity.” A more detailed answer is of why homes crack often occurs as a house moves, oh yes, all houses will move just a hair, especially when it rains, as the rainwater lifts the house only a fraction, this can’t be measured by man’s instruments or seen or recording in any way, then when the dryer conditions return? The earth settles once more. Settling cracks begin; no big deal when one understands why.
With stucco, the slightest movement and or vibrations cause hairline cracks. This does not affect the integrity of the waterproofing membrane. However, most folk panic as they have no clue why this happens. Thus, any home movement is like Kryptonite to Superman, not good.
We have many video’s offers simple caulking repairing tips, I’m amazed at how many homes I see with poor caulking applications, but this is another story.
BTW, caulking cracks instead of filling them with stucco will flex better when the home moves.
Movement is a crucial cause of cracks, especially in cementitious color coats, decks, sheetrock, tile or comp roofs, floors, headers, whether for structural or cosmetic reasons “SHOULD BE INSTALLED” before stucco color finish coats as a rule.
Thus add your deadweight before doing the stucco finish.
Often hairline or large stress cracks are due to settling.
Poorly built foundations, high winds, and especially “rain” cause the ground to expand then shrink or settle when dryer conditions occur.
Installing new roofs, especially tile roofs, opening, and closing doors, let alone slamming them, especially the big beautiful solid oak or similar ones (causes vibrations) who has not slammed a door by accident or anger?
Again, traffic driving to and from is the ground movement that can’t be seen or felt, even furniture being moved around inside the home if heavy enough causes the unseen vibrations.
Glass, concrete, and stucco usually don’t flex much. They instead shatter or crack with movement and or vibrations.
The above reasons touch the surface of why stucco cracks.
Also, note the concrete sidewalks or driveways or even the tar streets. If these are also cracked, it’s the earth sometimes moving. Stucco walls and or driveways can crack without earthquakes. All stucco home substrates’ main reason get hairline cracks are the seasons, let alone months of rain lifts man-built structures. When dryer conditions occur, all substrates and grounds settle viola settling cracks.
I have also seen homes lifted off their foundations by the roots of redwood trees as these roots go down and often appear on the surface and follow the horizontal ground lifting anything above them as they grow, including homes.
What about homes built on fault lines? This is not an excuse; instead, simple facts.
https://youtu.be/chU9So3vy9s/stucco color finishes fix cracking. Moss
https://youtu.be/2eIkdeIBbMs/cracking on stucco walls.
https://youtu.be/9e4RVfbNBsA/explaining why they appear, plaster wall cracking
https://youtu.be/2eIkdeIBbMs/ cracking on stucco walls, no problemo
https://youtu.be/2sBHTy-v9ic/Horizontal cracking in stucco walls
https://youtu.be/C3Jqe6sQt2s/hairline cracking new cement plaster
https://youtu.be/7mxGCVfLZAY/stucco shrinkage cracks
https://youtu.be/EE7alMSzuNs/why stucco walls crack 2010
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Thank you all for watching, and wishing all a great day!
