Stucco isn't painted like siding
Stucco is a hard, porous, textured surface. Paint on it behaves differently from paint on wood: the texture soaks up more product, hides some flaws and exaggerates others, and the wall itself moves and cracks in ways a painter has to plan for. That's why a stucco repaint is priced on its own terms. The points below explain what a painter looks at before writing a number, without quoting any.
What NOAA lists for the station
NOAA's engineering weather data for Hill AFB/Ogden, near Ogden lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 1.3 inches per hour and about 67 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Freeze-thaw cycles matter for stucco because water that gets into a crack can freeze and widen it. On a repaint, the cracks a painter finds, and how they're filled, are a big part of the price.
Cracks and patches
Before any coating goes on, the walls are checked for:
- hairline cracks, which a flexible coating may bridge;
- wider cracks, which need a flexible patching compound worked in and textured to match;
- missing or loose stucco, which needs a repair before painting, sometimes by a plasterer;
- old patches that stand out because their texture doesn't match.
Matching texture is skilled work. A patch that's flat on a sand-finish wall will show through any paint. Expect cracks and patches to be listed in a proposal, with how each will be handled.
Washing and drying
Stucco holds dirt, chalk and efflorescence, the white mineral bloom that appears when water moves salts to the surface. Washing removes it, but stucco also holds water once wet, so it needs a good stretch of dry weather before primer. Efflorescence needs to be cleaned off and its source understood, or it can push through the new coating.
Coating choice
Stucco coatings come in two broad families:
- Masonry or acrylic exterior paint, applied in normal film thickness, breathable and easier to recoat later.
- Elastomeric coatings, applied much thicker, which stretch to bridge hairline cracks but can trap moisture if the wall behind them is wet and are harder to change later.
Elastomerics use more product and more labor per wall, so they usually cost more. A masonry primer or conditioner may be needed on chalky or patched walls. Ask the painter which system they recommend for your wall and why.
Texture and absorbency
Rough textures can take far more paint than smooth ones, and new patches drink more than old, painted stucco. Painters often back-roll after spraying to work the coating into the texture. All of that shows up as product and time.
Height, access and wind
Single-storey walls are reached from ladders. Two-storey walls, gables and walls over slopes may need scaffolding or a lift. Spraying stucco also needs careful masking of windows, doors, roofs and anything nearby, and windy days limit spraying, which can stretch a schedule.
Trim and details
Stucco houses often have foam or plaster trim around windows, decorative bands and wood fascia. Each is a different surface with its own prep and paint, and each adds edges to cut in.
Lead-safe prep on older walls
Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices.
On a pre-1978 house, scraping and sanding painted stucco or trim disturbs paint, so containment and cleanup become part of the price.
Reading a stucco proposal
- the total wall area and the number of storeys;
- each crack and patch, with the repair method;
- washing and drying time;
- the coating system, by product, with film thickness for elastomerics;
- masking, access equipment and how wind days are handled.
The exterior painting page covers stucco prep in more detail, and the pricing guide explains how these items combine.