Good Afternoon,
I had recently found some moisture on a rim joist and traced it up to the stucco wall above. There was a small crack that looks to have been leaking. I had a stucco inspection, and this section is rotted, and 2 other areas are marginal(25% and 28%) moisture. He drilled out 2 cores and saw the stucco was only 1/2″ thick(3 coat) and there was only 1 layer of felt and the Tyvek. His recommendation was to replace the stucco on the entire wall, since the drainage plane is not functional now, and a patch in the problem area is only a baidaid. He can not site specific codes, but he feels that the code required thicker than 1/2″ stucco. He also wasn’t sure if the Tyvek and Felt paper were to code or not. The house was built in 2010. We have a good relationship with the builder, but feel if things were not done to code, we shouldn’t be entirely responsible for the repairs.
Thanks in advance.
Replies
Lots wrong here. I've never heard or a Code requirement for stucco thickness. 1/2" sounds about right. Sounds like your inspector isn't really sure about anything. I assume the tar paper is over the Tyvek which should be fine. I would check any windows or doors first as they are usually where stucco leaks although it can certainly come through cracks.
I can't imagine how anyone could apply 3 coat stucco and have it only be 1/2" thick. Perhaps if you used expanded metal lath over sheathing you might be able to do it. But not with wire lath. If this couldn't be done by trying it certainly couldn't be done by accident. Code requires 2 layers of felt, I suppose Tyvec and one layer would qualify. What do you mean " this section is rotted"? Stucco doesn't rot. Stucco will always have some cracking but I have never seen it leak. Leaks can come from many sorces. If the stucco does leak then coating with elastomeric paint should fix that. How much did he want to do the job. Undoubtedly a lot. I don't see how you could trace moisture up a stucco wall without seeing the back side of it. Wasn't there stucco over the rim joist?