Stucco & Exterior Walls in North Hills
Stucco goes on in a fixed order, from screed to finish coat. Fernhill Builders runs North Hills wall jobs in that sequence.
A stucco wall cannot be built out of order. The base screed is set first, the paper laps over its flange, the lath follows and only then do the coats go on, each left to cure before the next. On a North Hills job we plan the days around those layers, because skipping ahead hides defects that are hard to reach later.
From bare wall to lath
Old stucco comes off to the sheathing, and damaged sheathing or framing is repaired. The weep screed goes on along the foundation line before anything else. Two layers of paper then cover wood sheathing, starting at the bottom so each upper course overlaps the one below, with the lowest course lapped over the screed flange. Flashing is set at every window and door head and tied into the paper. Metal lath goes up last and is fixed into the studs. Each layer is checked before the next one covers it.
Coats and cure
The scratch coat goes over the lath and is combed so the next coat has something to grip. After it has cured, the brown coat levels the wall. The finish coat comes last, with color and texture matched to the sample we make on a small area first. Control joints are placed as the lath goes up, so panels can move without splitting. Rushing a coat before the layer beneath has set causes weak bond, so the sequence holds when the schedule is tight.
Stucco & Exterior in North Hills: common questions
Noncombustible here means plaster applied to lath, or fiber cement siding fastened over a properly lapped paper barrier. Order matters for both, with the barrier first, then lath or siding, and the base detail finished before the final coat. The scope lists the layers in installation order.
Open the wall to the sheathing when the paper has failed or the sheathing is damp, because the new coats depend on the layers beneath. Keep to a patch when the damage is limited and the wall behind is sound. Either repair is built in the same sequence as the wall itself.
Before the paper and lath go on, the screed is set along the foundation line, so everything above laps over it. We lower soil and trim paving to leave clearance, then clear the slots. The finish coat stops at the screed edge and leaves the gap open.
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More work we do in North Hills
Plan your project in North Hills
Tell us about the house and the stucco & exterior work. We reply about a walk-through and a written scope.