exterior wall gap between foundation and bottom of stucco.

3 years ago

We are finishing a new build in Colorado (get about 30” of snow a year). Drawings show 14” between the subfloor and top of soil. We did a preliminary punch list and saw that there is a 2” gap between the bottom of the stucco and the foundation where you can see the wood decking. This is only about 3” from the ground. Of course this is in a corner where we will have the most run off and snow, although there will be gutters. Our builder wants to put in a water barrier, then foam and cover with metal siding. I don’t think this is adequate and will look like a trailer! I’m arguing for extending concrete up to the stucco after it’s been filled and sealed.Will also need to take out some soil and grade down to a swale. As he did not following the site plans, who is responsible for paying for this?

Featured Answer

3onthetree

3 years ago

Unless you have a drainage plane or some other detail on the wall framing alignment, the typical detail is the EPS at ~2"-3" thick would be sticking out beyond the stucco. Realize ICF is just a normal concrete foundation wall where the formwork was left on. You can cut the EPS down to just below grade rather than adding another finish to cover it. Then you would retain the proper stucco detailing and grade separation. Still not sure what the black is, it looks bulbous, like if they used membrane as a sill seal, then stuck the overhang flap behind the EPS.

Grade is simple, it starts min 6" below anywhere your wood starts, then slopes down and away from house. "French drain" has become a go-to word that people think is a panacea for all water problems; but very seldom is it the proper solution. You have not insinuated there are water problems - rather, it's just a new build that needs proper grading.

I don't know if the builder stops at rough grading and you are left to finish it, or if they included sod/seed in the build. For rough grade inspections are a little light. But only one thing matters: water flows downhill. Grade is manually contoured to allow that to happen away from the house.

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Comments (6)

3onthetree
3 years ago
I can't really tell everything with such a close up perspective. But you are required min 6" exposed concrete foundation wall above grade. Your wood sill plate, wood sheathing, and stucco finish would start at that top of foundation wall. The 6" minimum is for both (non-frozen) water and pest protection. Regardless of 30" or 96" of snow, you can't just cover and fill this gap with whatever contraption the builder thinks up - the stucco has to drain, and water can rise through/gaps of the EPS behind any cover through capillary action.

The pic looks like the wood sill plate through there, so I can't tell if the sheathing and WRB didn't cover it. The black looks to be a membrane, which was brought up to the top of foundation wall. The EPS insulation was brought almost up to the top of foundation wall as well. The stucco weep screed was hung too high.

What happens during the foundation stage, prior to backfill, is the contractor marks the height of grade around the foundation (e.g. chalk line) which would be min 6" below your chosen wall finish. The membrane is brought up to that line (should have UV protection behind soil), and the insulation just below it (EPS needs UV protection too). When the stucco weep screed is attached over the wall sheathing, they will probably extend it down a bit past the wood. All points apparently failed here.
ppomerl
Original Author
3 years ago
Ugh, who do I need to get to look at this and outline a fix? Needless to say, not trusting the builder too much right now.. thanks for your feedback
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3onthetree
3 years ago
It's always a tough question if you have a builder who is not concerned with doing things right. But if you have no one in person available or hired who can review the construction, understand how things should be done, analyze what was done, negotiate the contractual and psychological methods of pushing the contractor to perform, then maybe your permitting inspector might be of help (but only in the capacity of what is not code compliant).
worthy
3 years ago
Even if you could anchor 4" blocks onto the existing foundation, you'd block the weep screed--which doesn't even appear to have been installed to begin with. It should hang up to 3.5" below the stucco and drain onto the concrete foundation.

The "builder"s suggestion seems just as problematic

As advised earlier, you need an independent expert such as a building engineer to devise a long-term solution. But if this is a tract-built house, good luck on that.

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ppomerl
Original Author
3 years ago
I am meeting with the building inspector and builder on Wednesday. I think the current idea is, after proper grading, to extend the stucco wall down to the foundation with the weep screed 1-2” below the wall sill. The foundation is ICF, so will put a layer of synthetic stucco on that to finish. I think we will need a French drain to make sure that the water drains away from the house to a swale. Thoughts? Thanks for everyone’s input..