Stucco is its own kind of job
Stucco looks like a flat wall from the street, but up close it's a rough, porous, mineral surface full of tiny peaks and hollows. It soaks up paint, hides some flaws and exaggerates others, and it cracks as a house settles. Painting it well takes different tools, more material and different preparation from painting siding. Here is what makes the price of a stucco repaint go up or down. We don't quote figures; a painter has to see the walls.
Texture and how much paint it drinks
The rougher the finish, the more surface area there is to cover, and the more paint it takes to fill the texture. A smooth trowel finish uses less paint than a heavy dash or lace texture. Never-painted or very weathered stucco is thirsty and may need a primer or sealer first. Ask the painter how they've allowed for texture in the amount of paint, and whether they plan to back-roll after spraying so paint is worked into the hollows.
Cracks: hairline to structural
Most stucco has some cracking. How it's handled affects both price and result:
- Hairline cracks can often be bridged by a thick, flexible coating.
- Wider cracks need opening up and filling with a masonry patch or a flexible stucco caulk, then texture matching so the repair doesn't show.
- Cracks that keep reopening or run diagonally from window corners can point to movement that paint won't fix; a painter should say so rather than cover it.
Texture matching is a skill, and it's slow. Patches that are filled flat on a textured wall will show through any paint. Ask how repairs will be blended.
Washing, chalk and white deposits
Before painting, stucco needs cleaning. Old paint may be chalky; dirt collects at the base; and stucco can show efflorescence, a white, powdery salt deposit left as water moves through masonry. Efflorescence has to be removed and the moisture source addressed, or it can push new paint off. Washing must be gentle enough not to blast the surface apart, and the wall must dry thoroughly before priming.
Choosing the coating
There are two broad options, and the choice changes the price:
- Exterior acrylic paint, usually in a flat or low sheen, which breathes well and is easy to touch up.
- Elastomeric coating, applied much thicker, which stretches across hairline cracks. It costs more per gallon and goes on at a heavier rate, but can reduce crack repair. It can also trap moisture if the wall isn't sound and dry, and it's harder to repaint over later with ordinary paint.
Ask the painter which they recommend for your walls and why. Our exterior painting page covers stucco in more detail.
Masking, trim and access
Stucco is often sprayed, and spraying means masking every window, door, light fixture, roof edge and paved surface below the walls. Masking can take as long as the painting. Trim, fascia and doors are usually brushed separately in a different product. Second-storey walls, walls behind plants and narrow side yards all add time.
Weather on the wall
NOAA's engineering weather data for Imperial lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 85 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 1.5 inches per hour and about 3 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. These figures belong to the station named Imperial, not to El Centro itself, and they are design values rather than daily conditions. For a stucco job, the practical points are simple: spraying stops when wind carries the mist, and fresh coating can't take rain. Ask how a lost day affects the schedule and the price.
CSLB's statement
CSLB says a license is generally required when the total cost of labor and materials on a project is $1,000 or more, or when the project needs a building permit or uses additional workers. The source is in the card below; take any question about how it fits your job to the painter.
Comparing bids on a stucco house
- Acrylic or elastomeric, and at what thickness?
- How will cracks of each kind be repaired and textured?
- How will the walls be cleaned, and how long will they dry?
- Spray, roll, or spray and back-roll?
- What is masked, and who removes it?
Our pricing guide explains how prep and access drive price.