Stucco is not siding
Stucco is a cement-based skin. It's porous, it's textured, and it moves a little with temperature and moisture. Paint on stucco has to grip a rough surface, let moisture out of the wall, and cover hairline cracks without becoming a water trap. Those requirements, plus the sheer amount of surface in a textured finish, are why a stucco repaint is priced differently from a wood or fiber-cement house. We don't publish prices; this guide explains the parts.
Two weather figures and what they mean for stucco
NOAA's engineering weather data for Charleston lists a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.3 inches per hour and about 21 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year, among other design figures. The same data lists about 2,104 cooling degree days and 2,306 heating degree days (base 65°F) in an average year, with July the peak cooling month at 460.
For a stucco job, the rainfall rate is a reminder that hard rain finds every open crack and every gap at windows and doors. The cooling figures point to when the hottest painting days fall. Both feed into how a painter schedules the work.
Washing
Stucco holds dirt, mildew and algae in its texture. Washing is usually a cleaner plus a low-pressure rinse. High pressure can erode soft stucco or drive water into the wall. After washing, a porous surface takes longer to dry than wood, often a day or more before primer. That drying time is part of the schedule you're paying for.
Crack repair
Hairline cracks are common in stucco. Wider cracks, cracks that step across the wall, and gaps at window and door frames need a repair material made for stucco, and sometimes a patch that matches the texture. Matching texture is skilled work; a patch that's smooth on a sand-finish wall shows in raking light. The number and width of cracks are among the biggest variables in a stucco bid.
Cracks that keep reopening, or that come with bulging or staining, can point to something beyond paint. A painter may suggest having those looked at before coating.
Primer and coating choices
The coating system is the second big variable.
- Masonry primer seals porous or patched stucco and helps the top coat adhere evenly. New patches especially need it.
- Breathable acrylic masonry paint lets water vapor pass out of the wall and is the usual choice for sound stucco.
- Elastomeric coating is thick and flexible and can bridge hairline cracks. It also costs more, goes on heavier, and can trap moisture if the wall has a water problem.
Ask which system the painter recommends and why. Our exterior painting page has more on stucco coatings.
Coverage and texture
Textured stucco has more true surface area than its outline suggests, so it takes more paint per wall than smooth siding. Spraying and back-rolling, where one worker sprays and another rolls the paint into the texture, gives the best coverage and is common on stucco. It also takes two people and more masking.
Height, masking and trim
Two-storey stucco walls need ladders, scaffolding or a lift. Windows, doors, light fixtures and landscaping must be masked before spraying. Wood trim set into stucco is usually painted separately with a brush, in a different product and often a different color.
Heat and rain days
Masonry coatings, like other exterior paints, have label limits for temperature and for rain after application. On a stucco wall in direct summer sun, a coat can dry before it's worked into the texture. Crews often follow the shade and stop early. Rain after washing means waiting for the wall to dry again.
The state classification
The Residential Builders Commission lists Painters/Wallpaperers as a specialty contractor classification covering the application of materials common to the painting and decorating industry; a registered specialty contractor may hold up to three classifications.
Comparing bids
- How many cracks will be repaired, and with what?
- Will patches be textured to match?
- Which primer and which top coat, elastomeric or breathable?
- Spray and back-roll, or roller only?
- How long will the wall dry after washing?