A Closer Look at Stucco Repair and Painting in San Diego

As the spring rains slip into the rearview mirror, you might be finding yourself with a perfect opportunity for home improvement, repairs, and exterior painting here in the San Diego area. After all, we’ve always been big proponents of proactive inspections and surface maintenance.

Years of experience have taught us that purposeful, routine care is much, much more cost-effective than waiting for a catastrophe to catch your attention.

One of the most valuable exterior maintenance projects you can invest in is prompt and skillful stucco repairs. Let’s take a closer look at why it’s so crucial, how you can protect your home, and top things off with a real-life example of a thorough repair.

Stucco is a popular interior and exterior material, and for a whole lot of phenomenal reasons. Unfortunately, however, it is brittle. As your home settles or experiences natural shifting over time, cracks can and will inevitably form.

As we’ve mentioned before, a good rule of thumb is to concern yourself primarily with stucco cracks that are wide enough to accept a credit card. You also will never regret cataloguing cracks, perhaps even snapping a few photos for reference, just to help you track whether or not the damage is spreading, widening, etc...

• Quickly address any damage - Hairline cracks might not pose an immediate threat, but larger points of damage or decay should be resolved right away. Otherwise you’re opening the door to moisture, mold, mildew, pests, and more.
• Avoid exposure to moisture - On numerous occasions we’ve visited homes where sprinklers are set too close to the house, resulting in a perpetual exposure to moisture. This kind of sogginess isn’t doing your siding any favors, and can open the door to premature breakdown and weakening.
• Keep bushes and landscaping trimmed back.
• Frequent cleaning - A gentle pressure washing will keep your stucco looking fantastic, and help to inhibit the growth of damaging mold and mildew as well.

Here’s a closer look, shared by one of our craftsmen during a local San Diego stucco repair project:

• First, he removed all the loose stucco
• He then applied a stucco patch and acrylic bonder
• A blended finish was then achieved by floating the patches with a sponge float
• It was then time to prime and paint!

In case you’re a visual person, be sure to click through the slideshow above.

We’re here to help, and to make your home maintenance that much easier and more effective. Give us a call today !