Stucco & Exterior Walls in Valley Glen
Old cable, conduit and pipe holes let water into a wall. Fernhill Builders finds and seals them on Valley Glen stucco jobs.
Old stucco walls collect holes. Cable and satellite lines, a removed light, an air conditioner line set or a capped pipe each leave a gap through the plaster. Small openings like these let water into the wall and, where ember rules apply, let embers in too. On a Valley Glen job we find every penetration before deciding what the wall needs.
Finding what the wall hides
We walk the full wall and mark each pipe, wire and bolt that passes through the plaster, including abandoned ones. Stains below a penetration are probed. If the sheathing around it is soft, the repair widens to cover it. Dead cable and unused sleeves are pulled out and the hole is closed with lath, paper and plaster. Lines still in service stay, with a flanged cover and sealant at the surface. Each opening is listed with its location, so nothing is missed when the plaster goes back.
What a finding changes
A clean, dry opening is closed with a plug and a patch. A wet one pulls the scope toward cutting back to the sheathing, replacing damaged paper and flashing the penetration into the paper layer. Large holes, such as an old vent or a removed unit, are framed and lathed like new wall. Vent openings that stay are fitted with fine-mesh, ember-resistant covers if the lot falls under ember rules. The scope shows each penetration as a line, with what was found and what was done.
Stucco & Exterior in Valley Glen: common questions
Metal-lath plaster and fiber cement siding are both noncombustible builds. Their strength depends on the openings, so each pipe, cable and vent through the wall is sealed or fitted to keep water and embers out. We map them in the scope along with the layers.
If the openings are few, dry and well sealed, a patch around each is enough. A wall full of old holes with stains around them is better stripped, since the paper behind those spots has likely failed. The probe results settle it.
Soil, mulch and paving covering the screed come away first. We open the weep slots and replace any damaged length. A pipe or hose line crossing the base gets a sealed collar. Then the plaster is finished to the screed edge, leaving the gap in view.
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Plan your project in Valley Glen
Tell us about the house and the stucco & exterior work. We reply about a walk-through and a written scope.