Can heavy rain cause stucco cracking?
Yes, Big time, as it’s the number one reason why stucco, concrete, and even tar roads crack and sometimes buckle.
Need proof? It’s all in this video.
Below are all the basic tools we use and recommend on Amazon’s website.
https://stuccoplastering.com/tools/
Yea, I only covered some aspects of what’s going on, like the missing Drip or Weep Screed.
In 1975, it became code to install weep or drip screeds for three reasons. One to stop the stucco from touching the dirt or ground. Two, more importantly, to give the walls an expansion joint, and three, to provide us with plasterers something to stop at. There are more.
We didn’t start installing them until about 1980. FYI, my own home had the stucco touching the ground. But I didn’t lose any sleep over it, as I knew why. Or installing an expansion joint where the two different sub straights are connected would have been futile. House to addition. As there were two separate foundations, thus an expansion may have helped but, in my humble opinion, would not have prevented a crack.Plus, this cost would not have outweighed any benefits as it’s pre-existing.
This is the thought process of learned and proven knowledge.
What is the second cause of all cracking in concrete and stucco?
Vibrations as that’s what the rain actually does when it has rained, as it has recently in the last month, with more rains falling in a month than it has in any other year for the last 30 years.
These rains lift or swell all ground surfaces, then when dryer conditions return, they will. Voila, settling, which is a form of vibrations.
Old Kirk says vibrations to stucco is like Krytonight to Superman, not healthy.
For example, what happens when stucco gets wet? It swells along with getting darker in color unless it’s painted.
If you wonder why the stucco on your house is cracking, again, it absorbed the water from the rain and shrunk when it finally dried out.
Should you be concerned about these new stucco cracks?
Not really; as odd as this may sound, it’s common for the stucco to crack. 99% of all cracks are harmless regardless of their sometimes unsightly appearance.
Thus, which stucco cracks are serious or a structural concern?
I could write a book on this topic after 40 years of dealing with stucco. If the crack is larger than an eighth-inch gap, the sooner you caulk them, the better; that’s the drag of maintenance. We all got to do it.
I’d recommend Quikrete or Mor-Flexx for exterior cracking, as their caulking has sand in every tube and matches all stucco finishes better than caulking without sand.
If you do this when there are cracks, no worries about rain entering stucco cracks and causing water damage, as now the cracks are sealed.
Out of the thousand videos on YouTube, I’d say the two below will help most folks understand how to protect their number 1 investment.
https://youtu.be/D5gaZmYk3bU/ How to use Quikrete adhesives.
https://youtu.be/chU9So3vy9s/ Horizontal cracking causes.
https://youtu.be/9e4RVfbNBsA/ learn the reason why stucco or plaster walls crack.
While we are on leaking walls, let’s not forget the old scupper issues.
https://youtu.be/PXfcvFR8YBo/.
Why scuppers can leak on stucco walls.
https://youtu.be/9e4RVfbNBsA/ Repair small cracks in interior plaster walls. Winter rains cause cracking.
Special tip only from the minds of this DIY network designed to teach young and old, the inexperienced, to master modern craftsman. Alternative and or traditional methods used in repairing stuff.
