Uh-Oh Stucco?!

[Kyle Soderman]

Looking for your advice and expertise on Stucco siding. Anybody with experience with Stucco siding in Minnesota MN would be great. What I know (at least I think I know): I know that there are two (or more?) types of Stucco, real and synthetic. I've read that synthetic comes along with many problems. I also read that if it is real Stucco then it is very reliable. Since I am from Minnesota there are drastic temperature changes and also very wet. What I'm wondering: How long does real Stucco siding last? Is synthetic Stucco the beginning of a bad deal in a climate like MN? Can an inspector tell if it is real or synthetic? Or would one have to have a specialists check it out? Any other comments/ opinions are welcome. Thanks!

[Kristen Schade]

Real stucco old older homes in Minnesota is not usually a huge concern.  It is the, "newer," stucco on air-tight Minnesota homes where poor flashing around windows and other areas often causes moisture intrusion and then the stucco, "locks in," the moisture and causes huge and expensive problems down the road.  Search Woodbury and Stucco if you really want to be freaked-out about new stucco homes, it talks about a large percentage of homes in this ares that needed 10's of thousands of dollars of repairs due to poor stucco installation.

Structure Tech in Minneapolis purchased the company in Minnesota that was the lead stucco testing company and they can pin probe the stucco in certain areas to check for moisture intrusion, but this is a very expensive test ($300-$800 depending on the number of probes).  They also can use a infrared camera or a borescope to do an inspection at what may be a lower cost, but they usually only use these for newer stucco homes since that is where the problems normally area. 

Older stucco homes are usually breath enough to where there are no issue with moisture collecting and causing issues like in new stucco construction.  Upon home inspections where I have worked with buyers or sellers and older stucco homes, the inspector will usually will advise the buyer to get the seller to patch any cracks (make sure you use the right stucco patch and elastic paint) and we are good to go.  So you should be OK with old stucco, but I would call a good inspector like Neil from Structure Tech if you have any specific concerns.  Best of Luck!