Our Process

Inside a stucco repair on your Winter Springs chimney

Hairline cracks and how to treat them

Small hairline cracks usually are not serious, according to Preservation Brief 22, and they may be sealed with a thin slurry coat made from the finish-coat ingredients, or even with a coat of paint. A crack that fine often stays in the outer layer and never reaches the backing.

Each fine crack on your Winter Springs chimney is checked for signs that it goes further, such as a hollow sound around it or rust staining along its line. If it stays at the surface, a slurry or a compatible coating is often all it needs, and you pay for that rather than a cut-out patch.

Cutting out larger cracks for a proper patch

Cracks wider than a hairline have to be cut out before they can be repaired, Preservation Brief 22 says. The deteriorated, severely cracked and loose stucco comes off down to the lath or the masonry, and the area is cleaned of debris, loose paint, dirt, oil and plant growth so the new material can bond.

Our crew opens the damaged area on your Winter Springs chimney, brushes it clean and checks the backing before any new stucco goes on. What we find behind a larger crack, whether sound block or rusted lath, is explained to you on site and reflected in the price before the patch is built up.

Earlier repairs that made things worse

Not every crack on a chimney is original damage. The brief notes that previous repairs inexpertly carried out, particularly in rigid portland cement over softer stucco, can cause additional deterioration, and caulked cracks stand out more each year as they collect dirt.

When your Winter Springs chimney carries old patches, our team checks whether each one is still firmly attached and whether it matches the stucco around it. Patches that are sound and blend in can stay. Those that have loosened or cracked at the edges are cut out and replaced as part of the repair.

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 Winter Springs 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.