Is it OK to restucco over old stucco?

10 years ago

I am remodeling my home including a new addition. The old exterior is a very rough beige color. I want the entire home to have a smooth sand, white finish.

My contractor will of course put new stucco over the addition. But he plans cover the old stucco with new stucco. His process is to power wash the old stucco (not sand blast or remove the color coat) then apply a new brown coat "with polybond" over the old stucco, and then apply a new color coat.

He says this is even better then stripping the old color coat because it will be "stronger". But I am worried that putting new stucco over old stucco will not be as durable. I don't want to have the stucco peeling off in a few years.

I need some advice. Should they strip the old stucco down to the brown coat or is what he proposes to do OK?

TIA

Featured Answer

homechef59

10 years ago

I learned a lot about stucco when we renovated our 1848 stucco over brick home.

How old is your home? How old is the stucco? What is the base material that the stucco was attached to in the first place. Is the stucco real stucco or dryvit?

It is hard to provide information without knowing the answers to these questions. I will say that our stucco contractor, who was a restoration specialist said real stucco has a life of about 50 years. Longer if it is well cared for and maintained.

If the stucco still attached and is solid against the substrate, it doesn't need to be replaced. To make this determination, our contractor tapped the surface with his ring. There was a difference in sound. I could hear it, too. While a simple method, it worked.

We removed the stucco that had failed and replaced it with new stucco. The areas that had not failed were left in place and painted. You will want to use an elastomeric paint, much thicker than normal exterior house paint. Elastomeric will shrink and swell as the house breathes. It is more expensive, of course, than normal exterior house paint. Keeping paint on the stucco and moisture away from the interior surface will keep the stucco in place for a long time.

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Comments (15)

uscpsycho
Original Author
10 years ago
No idea how old the stucco is. I recently purchased it and don't know the history. It is real stucco and looks to be in good shape.

After posting this question I found this post by a stucco. They insist that the only proper way to re-stucco is to sandblast away the existing and replace it with new.

As I said, the new finish will be a different color and a different texture so there is no option to paint over the old. If the old stucco is not removed then everything has to be completely covered with the new stucco.
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homechef59
10 years ago
I'd remove it. That's what we did. I just didn't want to shock you with a big hit to the budget. If one wall of the house, say the rear elevation is still good, you might be able to leave it. Trying to leave up part of the elevation and install new stucco adjacent to it won't look good.
uscpsycho
Original Author
10 years ago
Are you saying that if new stucco on the addition is adjacent to an area where new stucco is put on top of the old stucco then I will see a difference? I am sure my contractor would tell me that it won't be noticeable, or that the stucco guys can smooth it out. But you are saying it's not going to look right? This is something else I'm worried about.
rwiegand
10 years ago
Here's a great article on stucco that we found when looking at a stucco house in the Boston area. They are rare here, and I knew nothing about stucco, so found it very informative. http://www.oldhousejournal.com/npsbriefs2/brief22.shtml
homechef59
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
It's difficult to get the same depth, finish and contour as the original. If you want to change the finish everything has to be redone.

That is a really good article in old house journal.

Stucco repair is a specialized job.
spc11111
8 years ago
May I know what did you do? how is the result?
~peggynell~ Cherry
8 years ago
No
Amy Hobson
6 years ago
hello, My husband and I are in a similar situation however, we hired a stucco company to restucco our home from the original rough look to a more smooth texture... We asked the guy and all the other companies we got estimates from about preperation for the new stucco and all said we didnt need to and that they just go over what is already there and create the smooth finish we are looking for.... Fast forward to today, as of this moment the stucco company we hired has only done a small area that was not prepared before applying the stucco, they have also been no shows, no call and very difficult to get intouch with.. we are now back to the drawing board of hiring someone else and want to make sure the person is doing the job right... We live in South Florida and our home was built in 2001, CBS construction and has a very rough texture.. the house is painted and some or the paint is peeling away and flaking off also.. Does the house need to be stripped of the paint and surface prepped for the new stucco application? I almost feel like this is common sense but I am not an expert.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
6 years ago
Replacing the stucco may add extra expense to your project, but the peace of mind can be priceless.
Patty Finch
6 years ago
We have a 1930’s, small ( under 1200 sq ‘) and the paint is peeling all over and there are surface cracks. It seems to be like a cement type plaster, smooth finish...we want it updated with Santa Barbara Smooth, what would that process be like? Do they completely remove all the exterior down to the lath and plaster and start fresh? What kind of budget might we be talking about, $20-30K or more? Any help will be appreciated as we’re preparing this month to begin looking for a reputable Stucco Co in the Monterey County CA . I like to find out all I can before setting about to do do that. I like as much knowledge as I can gather so I know if and when I’m given BS by a Contractor. Anyone have any ideas?
Patty Finch
6 years ago
Small Spanish house. Sorry, left that out.
HU-547099293
5 years ago
We had our home stuccoed about 3 months ago. The job was not done right. There is water leaking into our home through the windows every time it rains ( which they replaced as well ) and there are sizeable cracks over every inch of the home ( some cracks you can place a finger into) . The contractor told us the stucco guy used too thin of a coat and water is seeping due to cracks in the bump outs around the windows. They want to redo the stucco by placing new wire and stucco ditectly ontop of the old layer. I have been told by another contractor this is wrong and they should take all the old stucco off and start fresh. Who is right?
JJ
5 years ago
This is a 5 year old thread. You can start your own thread and perhaps attract more commenters.
uscpsycho
Original Author
5 years ago
@HU-547099293 As far as I know this is totally and completely wrong. It may work at first, look good and hold up for a while but this should be fixed by removing the stucco and replacing it. I am not a pro but I started this thread, did a lot of research, and don't recall ever reading a scenario where it was considered acceptable to put stucco over stucco.

Don't quote me on this but it might be OK to stucco after removing the color coat.