What's Included
How stucco chimney repair is done in Midway
How many coats a stucco repair needs
Florida's residential building code sets the basic build-up for exterior plaster. Section R703.7 calls for installation to ASTM C926, ASTM C1063 or ASTM C1787, and section R703.7.2 asks for not less than three coats over lath and not less than two coats where the plaster is applied directly to masonry, concrete, brick or stone.
Those are the rules for new plaster work, and our team rebuilds a damaged area on your Midway chimney with the same coat structure. A patch built in coats, each given time to dry, follows the same logic as the original finish, and the estimate names the coats the repair will receive.
Bonding agents and when they help
A properly cleaned and prepared area usually does not need a bonding agent, the brief says. One may be useful for hairline cracks or on surfaces that bond poorly, such as dense stone or brick or previously painted masonry, but it should not be used on a wall that is likely to stay damp or where large amounts of salts are present.
Our specialists rely on good preparation and a mechanical key first on your Midway chimney. If the surface calls for a bonding agent, we tell you why, name the product on the estimate and make sure the chimney is not one of the damp walls where the brief advises against it.
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 Midway chimney we recommend a coating only where it helps and say plainly when it would not.
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 Midway chimney as well as the stucco itself, because repairing the finish while a downspout keeps soaking its base only resets the clock.
