What's Included
The stucco repair process for Casselberry homes
Finding the water behind cracked stucco
The National Park Service's guidance on stucco repair, Preservation Brief 22, traces most stucco deterioration to water getting into the structure, and it names the area around chimneys as one of the ways in. Water that reaches the backing rusts metal lath and nails, rots wood lath and eventually lets the stucco lose its bond and pull away.
For that reason the brief puts the building repairs first, such as roof, gutter, downspout and flashing work, and the stucco repair after. We follow the same order on your Casselberry chimney. The water path is found and priced before the finish, so the new stucco is not asked to hold back a leak it cannot stop.
When a whole chimney face should be redone
Smooth stucco is hard to patch invisibly, while a well-executed textured finish tends to conceal patches, Preservation Brief 22 explains. It recommends keeping repairs in a contained or well-defined area, and in a highly visible location it may be better to restucco an entire wall section so the difference does not show.
A chimney face that can be seen from the street is exactly that kind of location. If your Casselberry chimney has a smooth finish and scattered damage on one side, our pros may suggest redoing that whole face. The estimate shows both choices, patches or a full face, with the price of each.
Identifying the stucco before repairing it
Preservation Brief 22 describes a simple test on a small piece. A dilute solution of hydrochloric acid dissolves lime-based stucco but not portland cement, which tells the plasterer which family the existing finish belongs to and what kind of repair mix will behave like it.
When the stucco type on your Casselberry chimney is in doubt, our team tests a piece that is already coming loose, never sound stucco. The result goes on your estimate next to the mix we propose, so you can see why that material was chosen.
Coatings that let stucco dry
Sealers and heavy coatings are often sold as protection for stucco. The International Masonry Institute warns that film-forming coatings and water repellents may cut absorption but can also stop the stucco from breathing and drying when moisture does get in, and it calls for adhesion testing and mockups before any coating is applied.
Preservation Brief 22 adds that a water-repellent coating is in most cases not necessary on stucco, since paints and colorwashes serve the same purpose and stucco is itself a protective coating. On your Casselberry chimney we recommend a coating only where it helps and say plainly when it would not.
