Stucco & Exterior Walls in Van Nuys
Is that crack a problem? Fernhill Builders reads Van Nuys stucco cracks by width, pattern and location before deciding how to treat them.
A crack in stucco raises one question at the first visit: is it serious? In Van Nuys, Fernhill Builders answers by reading the crack: how wide it is, which way it runs, where it starts and whether it is stained. Those four facts separate a surface blemish from a sign that water, movement or failed framing is at work.
Reading a crack
A hairline that wanders in a map pattern is typically shrinkage in the finish coat. A line that runs straight from a window corner points to stress at the opening. A horizontal crack near the floor line can mean movement between stories. A stain, rust drip or soft edge means water. Width is checked with a gauge card and mapped on the wall, so the same crack can be compared after the next change in weather. The map becomes part of the file.
Treating what is found
Shrinkage cracks are widened slightly, filled with elastic patching material and recoated. Corner cracks get new lath strips and flashing at the opening. Movement cracks may need a control joint where none exists. A crack with water signs gets a probe, and if the sheathing is damp the wall section is opened. The scope lists each crack group with its fix, so the owner can see why one repair is a patch and another is a rebuild. Repairs are textured to match the plaster around them.
Stucco & Exterior in Van Nuys: common questions
A cement plaster wall in 3 coats on metal lath resists ignition, and fiber cement siding qualifies too. Cracks matter to that rating only when they let moisture or embers behind the face, which is why each one is read before it is filled.
Fine, closed, dry cracks mean a patch. Wide, stained, bulging or hollow ones mean stripping. A gauge and a small opening answer that without guessing, and the result is written into the scope for the whole wall.
Plaster ends above the ground on a metal screed with its weep slot open. A noncombustible strip fills that gap. Where a crack runs down to the foot of the wall, the screed and the first course of plaster are examined together.
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Tell us about the house and the stucco & exterior work. We reply about a walk-through and a written scope.