Stucco & Exterior Walls in West Covina
Chalk comes out before a quote does. Fernhill Builders traces and measures each crack on a West Covina stucco wall to learn what moved and what to repair.
Chalk comes out before a quote does. Each crack on a West Covina wall is traced and measured, because its width, direction and starting point say what moved. A fine web across the field is surface shrinkage. A stepped line from the corner of a window points to framing or a lintel. Fernhill Builders sorts the cracks by cause during the first walk, and the scope follows from that sort.
Reading crack patterns
Hairline cracks in a mesh pattern come from the plaster curing and usually take a flexible coat as the fix. Diagonal cracks beginning at the corners of openings come from stress concentrated there. Horizontal cracks at floor lines may point to the framing or to a joint in the plaster. Long vertical cracks that stay open can mean settlement. Each gets measured with a crack gauge so growth, if any, can be tracked. A map of the cracks, drawn on a sketch of the wall, goes with the scope.
From pattern to scope
Surface cracks are routed, filled and refinished. Corner cracks get diamond-shaped lath added when the plaster is rebuilt around them. Anything suggesting movement of the structure is referred to an engineer, because a patch cannot hold a wall that is still shifting. Cracks with stains or hollow sound around them are opened to see whether water is the cause. Every crack group gets its own line and fix in the scope. Cracks that return after repair are a sign the cause was not addressed, and the scope is written to avoid that.
Stucco & Exterior in West Covina: common questions
A wall resists ignition through its build, a cement plaster coat over galvanized lath or fiber cement siding. Cracks matter because they let water and embers reach what is behind the plaster. Closing them with the right materials keeps the wall's rating whole.
Hairline cracks on firm plaster take a patch or a flexible coat. Cracks that are stained, wide or hollow-sounding point to water or movement behind them, and the wall is opened to find out. Stripping follows only where the layers below are damaged.
The weep screed is cleaned or set above soil with its slots open, and a bare strip stays under the plaster edge. Cracks near the base are checked for water, since damp collects there. Soil and mulch are cut back so the line stays visible and dry.
More work we do in West Covina
Plan your project in West Covina
Tell us about the house and the stucco & exterior work. We reply about a walk-through and a written scope.