I was thinking the same thing but then I thought of EVERY OTHER siding material. He should really do a stucco series on better, faster and cheaper siding that looks better, works better, lasts longer, etc.
Post away, Matt. I can't get enough of the informative videos on your channel. You're an incredible resource not just for builders, but architects as well. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and acquainting us viewers to your other building science colleagues in Austin and around the country. Incredible stuff!
Yes please Matt, let's see some non-cracking smooth stucco tips, top venting conditions, and zero eave details! Love the videos thank you so much for your devotion!
You taught me so much about construction, I am forever grateful. I am also shocked by how little some builders and general contractors know about building science and procedure that unfortunately, I can never trust one to build my own home. But, very grateful for passionate knowledgeable people like you for willing to so thoroughly share their knowledge. Please keep it going. Hope you reach a million subs soon!
More on Stucco. Would like to see some details on dealing with transition between dissimilar products. ICF walls to wood gables. Thanks for the great videos. Please keep them coming.
i learn something in every video you make. I live in a 1920's lap siding bungalow with plaster and lathe ( no insulation ) on the inside. When i decide to replace the siding i want to incorporate some of these ideas / building science !
Fantastic video! Very helpful. Thank you! I'm a Designer in NW AR and have gained SO much knowledge from your videos it amazes me. They are absolutely improving my understanding of these building methods and products for real world application.
So yeah, pretty much nailed what I was thinking from the last video. Airgap/drainage plane behind the stucco and a wrap. I'm surprised more overhang wasn't part of the prescription to prevent issues with stucco. Ultimately this ends up being more of a stucco facade.
Great shows, notice the difference between north and south building right away. I'm building a 1 1/2 story, stucco, Passive code. Double wall stud, but 2×6 with 2×4. I seen the Architect with the beveled foundation too. Love the zip, and stucco ideas. Keep it coming, on... THE BUILD SHOW!
Hi, I like your video. A couple comments though. Stucco doesn’t leak. Water can get in through cracks, but if you lay the stucco horizontal and put water in a pool we would be waiting until next year before we saw any water coming through the other side, and its only February. Tried and tested by Professional stucco contractors:) Using acrylic finishes will repel water but I didn’t hear you mention that in the video. La Habra makes Parex, an acrylic finish to reduce cracking, repeals water, and is easy to clean if no downspouts are installed before finish and dirt gets splashed up on the stucco. Ugh, be careful though, if rain is expected and its cold the acrylic won’t dry and if it rains before the acrylic dries, you will have a mess. Acrylic has learning curve, but after mastering the material, one can become quite comfortable if he has good help. When I see you’ve subscribed to my channel I will subscribe to yours. From Ken in Nor Cal, California, Cheers
I'd love to see a Stucco repair series. The house I bought and am remodeling is stucco exterior and when I replace windows and doors, I'll need to repair the stucco around them. I'm a carpenter. I've usually done siding. How different is stucco from any of the concrete and tile work I've done? That's what I'd like to know.
I'm not a stucco guy. But I am a residential contractor in Toronto. The texture is reminiscent of a dry pack or sand mix and goes up with trowels like old plaster jobs. If that helps.
Yeah, it helps, sure. But I’d love Matt to do a tutorial. Fall is upon us and I won’t be doing the windows and doors this year. A video to refer back to would be awesome. If he doesn’t do one, I’ll spend hours watching what RU-vid already has just trying to find the right mix of decent advice. ;)
L F, that's exactly how I feel about it. I know plumbing. I know electrical. I hire pros for that work, because when it goes wrong it goes horribly wrong. I've got a background in concrete, framing, finish carpentry, tile, etc; but watching dudes do venetian plaster or stucco on the job site, it's evident you're speaking truth. I'll do drywall if I have to, but again I'm not daily skilled in it.
Check out Kirk Giordano on youtube. He's a pro thats been doing stucco for like 30 years. But I will say what others have said, stucco has a very steep learning curve. If you want a professional look then you'l almost certainly need to hire one. However sometimes, like my area, there isn't enough of a demand for a full time stucco person so you are forced to DIY. Kirk has helped me alot on the small stucco jobs I've done around my own home.
A mistake many make is thinking stucco is just another cladding. Cement stucco, mixed and applied correctly, is very water-resistant and not porous as some people think. This explains why water t hat can find its way in can do so much damage. Does not get in easy or leave easy. The stucco expert will push for kick outs, Z bar flashing and weep screeds, which is more " optional " with other claddings. The good news is that done right, you have a cladding that will last and last with very low maintenance. Done wrong, well, it is a disaster. Rain screen is fine, but without flashinng properly, failure will occur. Flasing is more critical than the air gap. Vancouver BC had to learn it the hard way.
Thank you for another great video! I would really enjoy seeing the step by step process of applying 3 coat stucco as you mentioned. I would also appreciate seeing how you properly vent at the top of buildings.
Matt - i just watched the video, "Stucco-3 Ways not Sucko". What can I say but...invaluable information and Iincredibly presented. As an aerospace quality engineer, I can totally relate to the advantages of choosing the right technologies, materials and best practice to deliver a quality product. Being a self-ascribed student of residential construction and architecture, this new subscriber looks forward to more enlightenment. Thanks a million!
Matt great stuff as usual. Would love to see videos on how to deal with flat roofs, especially one with parapets, and how you would solve water and air flow. Also would love you to revisit some of your finished houses, like the modern one with the huge garage, just to see the details again and how they turned out. Thanks for all you do.
Dang, Matt, I feel like I need to come apprentice with you just so I know how to interview a builder before I hire them! I feel like your options are either to find a builder who really knows his stuff like you, or buy brand new houses every 10 years so it's somebody else's problem. The latter seems easier because you never know what the builder might get up to in order to save a buck. I'm glad I can watch your channel to educate myself!
I love stucco. I am most interested in the venting assembly at the top of the stucco and the exact drainage of water from the drip screed. According to Gary Maylon, the drip screed should be at 45 degrees so that water cannot linger and corrode the galvanic coating of the screed. J screeds are only to be used is special circumstances. So the house you showed had not only the J screed but also a contoured slab. Perhaps if the J screed was made of stainless it could last 200 years. Then again I am old school. I have laid stucco thicker than 1 inch. When plastering walls I often exceed 2 inches. The plaster has more permeability than cement and is more eco friendly since you burn less CO2 producing fuels to produce the lime than you would to produce cement. Also the lime absorbs CO2 as it cures. Having an air gap is just as important with lime plaster, and more so if the plaster is part of a bathroom wall. I have seen plaster assemblies used in Japan instead of drywall because the lime plaster breaths better and the humidity often exceeds 80% in the summer. Many people there do not always believe in using their AC and instead keep windows open.
Hey Matt, great video with lots of information as always,,, I've subscribed to your channel for some years now and want to voice my thanks for your efforts at grabbing home home building by the ears and dragging it into the 21 century! Re a stucco application best practices video. With all the changes in materials to stucco systems in the past 15 years, I for one would love to see how you detail your stucco installations.
Its been a while sence you made this video, i hope you made the videos, i will be looking for them! Gotta love building science, its so amazing all the different well thought out methods, ive been creating my own masterpiece's for years, learning as I go, i feel bad about things i did before i knew any better but now there are a few perfect houses in Orlando Florida! Now building a house that I know will last and be maintenance free for the lifetime of the concrete feels pretty good! I had a friend ask me to build him something he could retire in and boy did I do him right, my only regret was using open cell spray foam instead of closed cell, that and not triple insulating the south facing wall. We filled the block with foam, which in hindsight wasn't enough, I wish I also used foam board between the furring strips and then wraped it before drywall, oh well, his electric bill is still only 140 in August! Oh one cool thing I did inside was I treated all the drywall throughout the house as if it were a shower pan, no flood damage possible and no roaches getting in my walls! I miss my building days. I miss it a lot, I was good at it for sure! I was pretty rich too back in those days! Funny how life goes. The things I use to take for granted are gone now. Life is too short. Too damn short, I guess thats why I love building things that hopefully outlast me! Leaving my mark seems important to me.
Great details for new construction. I'm curious if you can cover some details on a remodel? I have a 1938 house with no overhangs, no insulation, ship lap, tar paper, and stucco as well. I've had very few issues with rot, but I'm beginning to tighten up the house starting in the attic, and I'm concerned that I'll start having issues. Specifically, I'm wondering about adding overhangs at the gable ends, adding weep screed, and most importantly, I think, how to replace the windows. I think I've settled on Marvin fiberglass, and feel like I should go through the hassle of busting out the stucco, re-flashing, and using new construction windows. Anyway, those are some of the topics I'm interested in.
This same process applies to cultured stone veneer. Water control is everything no matter what cladding is used. There always needs to be a system to remove water from behind the cladding.
Hello Matt, another quality video. In Australia we have not stuccoed for 35+ years to the best of my knowledge. It appears that with all the lathing and waterproofing required and the obvious problems with water which always gets in somewhere why would you not just use brick with the cavity away from the frame and then render it. All masonry soaks so better to have the cavity. Stucco appears to me to be prone to cracking as it is fixed to the frame through the lathe and the frame twists and carries on with the modern building techniques being less stucco friendly as you noted with the old house stucco still in good condition . Just an observation. Brick would not be much dearer than stucco 3 coat surely?.
I live in NC, USA. You're 100% correct on the costing. It's typically more expensive to stucco than it is to install brick; I'm paying roughly $10 per sqft turn key for pre-mix stucco product; can get brick turn-key for about $6-$8...but try telling that to an architect, or a client that's got more money than sense.
Ask your wife?.Bigger beard bigger respect lol .You should be talking about codes that apply with areas via thermal dynamic retention with rain screen.I live in a rain forest in Canada..we have mastered rain screen effect. I have been through many codes in my 3 decades of enveloping and stucco. Great video ty
Matt, can you do series on things that might be relevant to mid market homes in California? Most homes I’m looking at are buying for $1-$1.5m 1200-1500 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath buoy in 1950s and 1960s that then need a $200-$500k remodels to get them updated. Common things, replace all windows and doors, small additions, etc. lots of same issues-no insulation, wood siding, very drafty, slab on grade or crawl spaces.
In a previous video it looked like you might be doing stucco over exterior insulation? There was a green synthetic lath (?) over some rockwool, but not sure of the final siding. Great content as always.
I live near Chicago. In the fall we have to move our vapor barrier to the interior warm side because our winters are bone-chilling cold. In the spring we have to move our vapor barrier to the outside because it gets rather warm and humid in the summer. I'm so sick of tearing off all the drywall and siding twice each year to get the vapor barrier right. There must be a better way. :)
Tips building a modern house flat roofs,no overhang roof, tips on having exterior glass walls, the best type of insulated windows, framing tips on the flat roofs, for the area in McKinney tx .
There are also materials used for the outside of homes, which may or may not be considered stuck which have a high fire rating; that can last 4+ hours in a environment like the fires we had here in Northern and Southern California this fire season. You must likewise use other technologies like, metal roofing or tight interlocking ceramic tiles with a special underlayment to protect.the.roof underneath, and even pull down window coverings and special garage doors designed to prevent the strong winds from Forest fires from forsing embers under the door and into the garage. Likewise, in other places, smaller Eve's can help the strong winds of hurricanes from peeling off the roofs from homes. The only issue I hear folks complain about stucco is, the mesh can act as a Feraday Cage, which can block cell phone signals and effect wifi signals to security cameras. The real nightmare is, stucco and laven Plaster, as you end up with a Faraday Cage both inside and outside your home, making home networking and cellular a real pain.
All very good products and install methods. I would think most framers would charge upwards of $7 -$9 per covered SQFT to apply these materials. I would be very interested to know the overall project price per SQFT and the labor rates for the subs used to install these materials.
Matt, After watching this video (which is great by the way) I would be interested in getting a feel for the cost difference between the 3 systems. Thanks and keep up with the fantastic videos.
would definitely like a video about crack reduction/ prevention. you had a previous video about that, using fiberglass in the mix, but if there are more tips, I would love to hear.
Thank you for sharing lots of information Matt. Could you share your insights for Stucco over CMU house? As this information appears to be for wood frame homes.
Matt awesome helpful vid. What is best practices for bricked homes having stucco over the bricking? Good/bad or indifferent idea? Also correct best way to stucco over the bricking?
Watched just about all of your videos Matt and really love 'em, I feel like I have learned a ton of what to look for during construction. But I am in California, do I just not have to worry about most (if any) of these best practices that are specific to the North or South? I am getting ready to build a home in the Santa Cruz area (about ½ mile from the ocean) and am I just going to drive my contractor crazy with all this "best practices" talk? The temp is pretty mild throughout the year (annual low 47 and annual high is 70), we don’t get torrential rains, is my only concern just watching how water tight the windows and doors are installed? I know there isn’t as much sexy building talk of making a house last for several hundred years in a climate that has maybe 2 seasons, but can you point out some best practices for us Californian’s? Thanks Matt.
99% of everything you say I agree with - but I really dislike stucco. At least I think it looks way out of place here in western Oregon. All that said, I love the technical reviews you do.
Matt Risinger indeed. It really is an extremely durable material. I come from a family of masons and troweled my first wall for pay when I was 14 - I think it’s still in place, 40 years later. I think it looks great on a southwest style house. For my taste in the NW, it’s either wood or stone - I don’t even like Hardi materials - I guess I’m a purest.
Great job explaining your methods and advise on proper stucco installations to which I plan to apply to our projects. Stucco is the number one wall surface here in Phoenix, AZ using the Western One Coat where typical installation uses a single layer of felt paper, 3/4" foam, metal lath - typically chicken wire with corner aid and expanded metal at transitions, then brown coat (scratch coat), then final coat. I question the benefits of foam board other than insulating properties and wonder if you have any input?
I see one problem with the weep screed application here. You should confirm that the water resistant fabric layer goes OVER (on top of) the weep screed not underneath and behind . Remember , we want the water to shed on top the fabric and weep screed then drain out the holes of the weep screed. The way it's applied here allows water to get behind the counter flashing of the screed . Probably won't effect too much here but it's a point of attention.
I hadTwo separate stucco guys give me a quote on putting acrylic stucco on my 80 year old house that only has wood siding as the substrate and they only wanted to install foam boards without any house wrap, supposedly the acrylic stucco is water proof
Like that you talking about more Commercial applications for residential An why is Commercial different from residential, cost, would it make a better home building a Commercial home
Great video!!! I would like to see the 3 coat stucco techniques !!! We live in northeast Ohio and we are considering having our house exterior done with stucco.
Hi Matt I’m just up the road from you in Waco TX. I’m an amateur first time builder almost done with my treehouse but about to stucco and wondering if I should paint or not paint. I see different perspectives online.. thanks
Matt - please provide the details for the top portion air gap system as well as the details for stucco above a window. I am thinking the weep screed should go above a window on top of the flashing.
I believe you have added so many layers of waterproofing materials the water from the air is bound to be caught in the wall and rot the studs, rust the nails, and fall off the wall.
Hey Matt I’ve been Lathing for 27 years and yet I’m still shocked at the new things that I see and learn. I would like more info on the silver liner. I’m in the process of getting my license and would like to offer that process. I’m in Tucson Az.
Its not just drainage its also air movement giving the humidity a chance to move away, but I think id use hubble zip wall with seam tape then an air gap Plastic mesh over rigid foam boards And a 3/4" total stuco siding after 3 coats. Thats 1/4" a coat. Thats going to make an airtight home with an outside wall insulation, inside can be fiberglass rox all or spray foam But insted of spray foam all of it sheets fit between the studs then spray around the edges to tie it togather. Now this house is so air tight it will have to have a Fresh air exchange unit installed in the hvac system no mistakes on fitting this system togather.
I had a stucco home with styrofoam with stucco over it and woodpeckers caused thousands of dollars damage. Ended up netting my eves and recent sold it for a nice profit
Overall nicely executed but if you guys are truly interested in building 100 yr homes, you're going to have to steer away from those galvanized screed details for the control joints and bottom screed. It's alot more expensive but pure zinc is the only way to go on those details. That stucco will last 100 yrs longer well after those galvanized parts wither away.
