16
Dec

How to Maintain Your Stucco Exteriors: 5 Handy Tips

beautiful stucco homeYou love the look of traditional stucco, and you’re not alone. Many homeowners opt for this popular, classic exterior to add timeless beauty to their homes. While this finish is highly durable, it still needs some TLC to keep it looking as beautiful as the day it was installed.

1. Timely Repairs

Even though stucco is a hardy choice for your home, it’s still subject to chips and cracks. If left unaddressed, these smaller damages can become a bigger problem down the road. Cracks and crevices can compromise the materials and invite water to settle under the finish itself. 

You can easily repair smaller flaws in your finish with repair kits, but any issue that is larger or more serious requires a visit from the pros. 

2. Clean it Regularly

Stucco, like any other exterior finish, can begin to look dirty and drab as time passes. Because of the porous nature of this finish some stains can be absorbed onto the surface, especially on spots of your home such as failing gutters, foundations, or those areas of the wall in close vicinity to trees.

Cleaning stucco surfaces is easy; use your garden hose or a low setting on your power washer and a mixture of dish soap and water, or if the surface is extremely dirty, bleach and water.

3. Reseal Your Exterior Finish

Professionally installed exterior will be sealed when it is initially placed on the home, but re-sealing it with concrete masonry sealant will be necessary to keep the moisture barrier intact. This is a job better left to the pros.

We recommend resealing your exterior every five years or so.

4. Repaint to Refresh the Color

Your stucco may experience color-fading as the years go by. Luckily, this finish is very easy to repaint to give your entire home a new, bright look. Choose an acrylic exterior paint, which allows moisture to evaporate.

Another benefit of acrylic exterior paint is that it’s easy to use and to clean up.

5. Caulking

Caulking will begin to deteriorate as time goes by, resulting in potential moisture problems around joined surfaces such as windows, corners, and doors. It’s important to maintain it on your exterior joints.

Robey recommends a watertight, durable polyurethane based caulk for these jobs.

Maintaining Stucco is Far More Affordable Than You Think

These exterior finishes are less strenuous on your bank account than you may expect. Some regular maintenance, such as those listed above, can stop small problems and keep them from turning into bigger ones.

You can contact Robey anytime to help you with your stucco maintenance needs, or to just ask questions about your finish. We are happy to help you with repairs, resealing, or any other job you may need done.