Ever notice how fast the sun bakes everything in the Valley? If you live out here in Mesa, your home exterior takes a heavy beating day after day. Between the triple-digit summer heatwaves and those sudden, violent monsoon microbursts packing dust and driving rain, Stucco has its work cut out for it.
Mesa Stucco & Plastering spends our days fixing walls that would not be in bad shape if they had just gotten a little routine maintenance. Stucco is very durable, but it is not bulletproof. If you ignore Stucco, the desert environment will chew it up.
What Real Stucco Maintenance Looks Like
You do not need a degree in construction to keep your walls healthy. Mostly, Stucco maintenance comes down to paying attention a couple of times a year.
- Walk your property line every spring and fall to look for new hairline cracks in the Stucco.
- Keep irrigation sprinklers spraying away from your walls so constant moisture does not wick up from the footer into the Stucco.
- Wash down the dust and dirt every few months with a standard garden hose—skip the high-pressure industrial washer unless you want to blast the Stucco finish right off.
Spotting the Warning Signs Early
Hairline cracks are normal out here as the ground shifts and things expand in the heat. But you need to know when a little Stucco crack turns into a major problem.
Look out for spiderweb Stucco cracking patterns or sections where the Stucco sounds hollow when you tap on it. That means the bond behind the brown coat has let go. If you see brownish-yellow water stains bleeding through the paint after a monsoon storm, moisture is getting trapped inside the Stucco wall assembly.
When to Call in Reinforcements
Some weekend projects are fine to tackle with a small tub of patch material from the hardware store, but bigger Stucco issues demand professional hands. If a Stucco crack is wider than a credit card, or if you have chunks of the Stucco finish coat flaking off down to the wire lath, patch kits will not cut it. Mesa Stucco & Plastering is a crew that knows how to feather in new Stucco material so it matches the surrounding dash or skip-trowel Stucco texture.
Catching these Stucco problems early saves you hundreds of dollars down the road. Keep an eye on your walls, stay ahead of the weather, and call Mesa Stucco & Plastering for Stucco work in Mesa, Arizona.