Stucco restoration and repair are usually when the renovation of older homes has deteriorated to such an extent that repair of the stucco generally needs to be undertaken. It’s impossible to repair an already damaged stucco wall without causing extensive damage, especially with traditional home painting methods. So often, professional repair companies come up with an innovative approach to bring the old beauty back into homes. Many of these methods can be achieved with existing stucco materials.
Stucco begins to crack naturally at various points along the wall, not necessarily in areas where moisture has been a problem. These areas begin to widen after years of exposure to weather, and many times they are perfectly within the capacity of homeowners to repair with paint and stucco paint. But occasionally, cracks grow so large that a professional Stucco Repair Jacksonville FL specialists must take care of them. They can also be larger than six inches in diameter, although they often develop in those larger cracks. Small cracks can be fixed using caulk, but large cracks should be left to the professionals.
Hairline cracks are the easiest to repair, as they only need to be painted over with an overlay coat. If the damage isn’t too bad, you can sand the area down and fill it with new stucco before applying the over-scratch paint. This technique is more time-consuming, but the results look just as good. There are other types of minor stucco repairs that can be done at home. For example, if there are hairline cracks that aren’t too noticeable, you might try filling them with a colored overlay coat and then painting the exposed portion.
However, if you have large cracks that are larger than six inches in diameter, it’s advisable to hire professional stucco repair specialists to take care of the job. When you have a large crack, you can simply apply a base coat around it and then apply the repair underneath. But when you have smaller hairline cracks, you will probably have to apply several layers of repair to make sure that it’s completely covered.
There are many types of stucco repair, so it’s important to understand the different techniques before deciding which one is right for you. There are basically three different methods for fixing stucco damage. The first is called wet repair. In this process, the affected area is soaked with warm water and then repaired using a mixture of cement and sand. Once this is done, the area is allowed to dry overnight, then repositioned and allowed to dry again before covering with another layer of cement.
Another method is referred to as low maintenance or sand in, which has many advantages over the traditional stucco application. By using sand in your low maintenance stucco repair, you can easily cover small cracks while leaving the larger ones repaired. For instance, if you had a hole in your wall caused by a water leak but because you have used a mixture of cement and sand in your low maintenance repair, you can easily fill the hole and put a new panel right over top of the repair. This new panel will look just like the rest of the original wall and will last for years without needing to be repaired. This is not the case with traditional stucco installation, where repairing a single board isn’t possible unless there’s major damage to all of the panels.
Yet another type of stucco repair is referred to as flashings. Flashings are used to fix minor moisture damage to your exterior wall without having to replace the entire wall. Sometimes just sealing the leak with a silicone caulk agent will solve this problem. If you have flashings that you believe may need replacing, consult an exterior wall repair expert.
Some commercial structures may need more extensive stucco maintenance than others. Exterior walls in areas prone to rain or snow, for example, must have their cracks repaired yearly. However, those living in areas that experience little or no rain or snow may choose to have their commercial structures’ stucco maintenance performed less often, but still have their exterior walls periodically repaired to prevent unnecessary damage.