What's Included

How stucco chimney repair is done in Forest City

Squared edges that keep a patch sound

A neat stucco repair is squared off with a butt joint, cut with a cold chisel, a diamond blade saw or a masonry bit, and the brief is specific that the new patch must not overlap the old stucco. A feathered edge spread over the existing finish is thin, weak at its margin and quick to crack.

On your Forest City chimney we cut clean edges around each repair and bring the new coats up flush with the surrounding surface. Where the stucco is scored, the patch is squared to follow the existing lines, which also helps the repair disappear into the pattern already there.

Keeping new stucco from drying too fast

To prevent cracking, the brief stresses that stucco must not dry too fast. The area should be shaded, or even covered if possible, particularly in hot weather, and in hot weather it is a good idea to keep the newly stuccoed area damp for 48 to 72 hours.

A chimney has no eaves to shade it, so on a hot Forest City day our team hangs shade over the fresh work and mists it through the curing period. If the weather will not allow proper curing, we move the finish coat to another day and tell you why.

What cracks chimney stucco

Preservation Brief 22 lists the usual causes of stucco deterioration. Ground settlement, leaking gutters and downspouts, intrusive vegetation, splash-back from the ground and vibration from traffic or construction can all crack stucco and let water in, and inexpert earlier repairs can add to the damage.

Some of those causes sit well away from the chimney face. Our specialists look at the gutters, the planting beds and the ground around your Forest City chimney as well as the stucco itself, because repairing the finish while a downspout keeps soaking its base only resets the clock.

Stucco where the chimney meets the roof

Preservation Brief 22 lists flashing repairs among the work that should come before any stucco repair, and the junction where a chimney meets the roof is where flashing matters most. Water that gets past it runs down behind the stucco, out of sight.

On your Forest City chimney our team checks the step and counter flashing along the roofline, the stucco edge above it and any sealant used to bridge the two. Loose flashing is fixed or replaced before the stucco around it is patched, and both repairs appear on the estimate.