Cracked stucco is a symptom. The question is what it is a symptom of, and the answer is almost never that the wall needs paint.
Johnson Law has handled stucco claims against national builders, regional developers, and stucco subcontractors across Colorado, for individual homes and for entire townhome and condominium communities. The consultation is free.
Two different problems
The stucco system itself was installed wrong. Water gets through the cladding and into an assembly that has no way to drain or dry. The sheathing and framing rot from the outside in while the wall still looks acceptable from the street.
The building is moving underneath it. Expansive soil lifts a foundation or a slab, the structure racks, and the stucco cracks because it is the most brittle thing attached to the frame. Diagonal cracks running off window and door corners, and stair-step cracks above a garage opening, often point this direction.
We investigate both, because we frequently find both on the same home.
What to look for
- Cracks radiating diagonally from the corners of windows and doors
- Long horizontal cracks at floor lines, or vertical cracks at building corners
- Stucco that sounds hollow when tapped, or that has bulged, blistered, or crumbled near the base
- Rust staining, dark streaking below windows, or white chalky deposits on the surface
- Stucco running straight down into the dirt, the concrete, or the roof shingles with no visible metal edge
- Soft or spongy trim, siding, or framing at the bottom of a wall
- Peeling interior paint, stained drywall, or swollen baseboard below a window
- Mushrooms, moss, or persistent damp on the exterior wall after a storm
The defects we find most often
Stucco is a water managed system, not a waterproof one. It takes on water, and the assembly behind it is supposed to catch that water and send it back outside. Most of the failures we litigate are failures of that drainage path.
Weather resistive barrier. Where the code requires two separate layers over wood based sheathing, we find one, or one applied over foam board that provides no drainage, or laps run the wrong direction so water is steered into the wall instead of down and out of it.
Weep screed. Stucco needs a metal screed at the base of the wall so water can exit. The code calls for it to sit at least four inches above the earth and two inches above paved surfaces. We find weep screeds buried by later landscaping, patios poured tight against them, and walls where no screed was installed at all.
Kickout flashing. Where a roof edge dies into a stucco wall, a kickout diverter has to throw the runoff out onto the roof and away from the cladding. Leave it off and years of roof water pour down inside the wall at one concentrated point. This small piece of metal is behind a remarkable share of the rotted framing we see.
Window and door integration. Head flashing missing, sill pans absent, building wrap tucked behind flashing instead of lapped over it, and stucco packed directly against window frames with no sealant joint.
Lath, thickness, and joints. Lath not fastened at the required spacing, not lapped, or missing at corners. Stucco applied thinner than the specified coat thickness. Control joints omitted on large wall planes or placed where they do nothing.
Curing. Stucco applied in July heat and never kept damp will craze and crack no matter what is behind it.
The damage you cannot see is the reason to move now
Hairline crazing in a stucco field can be cosmetic. What is behind it usually is not. By the time water staining reaches interior drywall, the sheathing has often been wet for years, and the repair is no longer a stucco repair. It becomes demolition, framing repair, window replacement, and re-cladding.
This is also why patching is a trap. A builder who offers to caulk the cracks and repaint is offering to hide the evidence and run out your deadlines. We have seen the same wall patched three times before anyone opened it up.
Proving a stucco case
These cases usually take intrusive testing. We work with building envelope experts who open selected areas of wall, document what is behind the cladding, and establish both the cause and the true scope of repair. That evidence is what moves these claims, which is why we prefer to be involved before anyone touches the wall.
Who can be held responsible
- The general contractor and the developer
- The stucco or plaster subcontractor
- The framer, the window installer, the roofer, and the waterproofing subcontractor
- The architect, where the details themselves were wrong or missing
- A seller who knew about the water intrusion and failed to disclose it
The strict deadlines to file construction defect claims are unfair and faster than most owners expect. It is a complicated analysis and must be evaluated on a case by case and even defect by defect issue. Our recommendation is to CONTACT US as soon as possible for a free consultation so that we can advise you on these issues.
Johnson Law has handled many stucco defect claims for individual homeowners and for entire townhome and condominium communities throughout Colorado. Please CONTACT US for an evaluation of your potential claim or case, or call (303) 586-4829.
