Stucco Painting & Maintenance
Breathable coatings and sensible upkeep, so the wall sheds water and still dries out. Chicago, the North Shore and the western suburbs. Licensed and insured.
The wrong paint does more damage than no paint
Stucco needs to breathe. Coat it with a standard impermeable exterior paint and the moisture that gets into the wall — and some always does — is sealed in behind the film. Through a Chicago winter that water freezes and pushes the coating off, taking some of the stucco with it. Painting stucco properly means a breathable, vapour-permeable system and preparation that suits a masonry surface.
What is included
- Wash down to remove chalking, dirt and biological growth
- Cracks and small failures repaired before coating, not painted over
- Failed sealant replaced at windows, doors and transitions
- Breathable, vapour-permeable coating suited to stucco
- Colour approved on a sample area on your own wall
- Windows, landscaping and hardscaping masked and protected
- Advice on the upkeep that actually extends the life of the finish
How the work runs
1. Assess and repair
We check the wall for cracks and failed areas and deal with them first. Coating over a defect only hides it until the next freeze.
2. Clean and prepare
Washed at a pressure the substrate can take, so we remove the chalking without driving water into the wall.
3. Coat and protect
A breathable system applied across the full elevation, in a colour you have seen on your own wall in daylight.
Painting and maintenance questions
Should stucco be painted at all?
It can be, and often should be for colour change or to protect a weathered surface. The important part is the product. A breathable masonry coating protects the wall; a standard impermeable exterior paint traps moisture and causes the failures people blame on the stucco.
My stucco was painted with the wrong thing. Can it be fixed?
Usually, though it is more work. The failing film has to come off before a breathable system can go on. We will tell you what we are dealing with after looking at how the existing coating is failing.
How often does stucco need recoating?
Less often than wood siding, and it depends heavily on exposure. South and west elevations weather first. Rather than a fixed interval, watch for chalking, colour loss and cracks that are starting to open.
What maintenance actually matters?
The unglamorous things. Keep gutters clear, make sure downspouts discharge away from the wall, keep sprinklers off the stucco, and deal with cracks before winter rather than after. That list does more for a facade than any product.
Photographs of our own stucco painting projects are being added to this page shortly. In the meantime, see our recent projects.
Get a free estimate
Send us a photo of the wall and we will tell you what it needs before it needs more — no charge and no obligation.