My background. I’m a Realtor here in Douglas County Colorado. I do not have an contractor’s license and I am not a pro at all things stucco. I have sold millions and millions of dollars worth of homes that have stucco and I’ve had to walk with my clients through many stucco inspections. I’ve learned a lot and I want to share what I know.
My wife and I purchased a stucco home in The Timbers Neighborhood in early 2014. The house was built in 2009/2010. Obviously during that time frame the builder was having a really hard time selling the house. In fact he rented it for about 6 months then the house sat vacant for 3 to 4 years once the bank foreclosed on this house. When we started this process I was shocked that there was very little real information about how and what needs to be done when having your stucco repaired. Finding a reputable contractor proved an even more difficult process.
We purchased the house knowing that it had a lot of deferred maintenance and that the stucco was in need of serious repair.
This house has what contractors call hard coat stucco on the base exterior walls. Some people and ESPECIALLY Home Inspectors get EIFS confused with Hardcoat stucco. It was explained to me by all of the contractors that gave me bids that the main walls are hard coat but the decorative trim pieces are usually EIFS or even a styrofoam under the trim pieces. Side note: The trim pieces are usually very easy to fix or repair so if you ever see damaged trim pieces don’t run from the house. It is typically fixable.
Gallery of photos below.
PLEASE feel free to call me to discuss if you have questions or concerns. I’m thrilled to answer your questions or kick around your ideas. Steven Beam 303-941-4663
Photo below shows you the fading and discoloration on the house before the stucco was applied.
What we saw on the outside of the house was efflorescence and cracks. The house was originally a green color stucco base wall then a lighter cream colored tan trim. By 2014 the house was 6 to 8 different colors of faded green. It looked horrible and drove me NUTS.
There had been numerous big hail storms in our area and nothing had been done to repair or prevent any of the past damage. Cracks were visible when walking around the house. Most were tiny spider web cracks but there were 8 larger cracks large enough to slip a dime into.
Upon moving in I wanted to stop the bleeding so I went to Home Depot and picked up a stucco repair kit and went to work sealing all the large cracks. The repair kit was nothing but stucco in a caulk gun and it was a very quick and easy remedy to hold us over until we knew exactly what we were going to do for the final “make it right solution.”
Stucco repair at this point was out of the question. I was going to make it 100% right or do nothing at all. The exterior of your house in Colorado needs to be maintained properly at all times so slight repairs were off the table.
I have several friends and clients over the years that have either had their stucco painted or purchased stucco homes that have been painted before. My stucco paint estimates were coming in ranging from $9,000 to $12,000 and they all wanted an additional $1,500 or so to complete the caulking that was needed.
My OPINION is that painting stucco is a never ending battle and it doesn’t last half the time the painter will tell you it is going to last. I know people that have had their stucco homes painted multiple times in less than 15 years of owning the home. Painting a stucco home looks awesome for a year then it starts to chip. This has been my experience. Your experience might be different. Bottom line…I was not wanting to start down the road of paying over $10,000 per paint job when I knew that painting wasn’t going to last or look the way I wanted it to.
To re stucco this house we received quotes from $15,000 to $35,000. Hell of a difference huh? Several of the contractors were giving me different advice too so this really messed with my head. It blew me away. Please understand that the $15,000 and $17,000 quotes came in early in 2014 before the real estate market blew up again so labor was still cheap and contractors were not backed up like they are today. At this point I needed a breather so I stepped back and started gathering information.
I had a pretty good feeling I wasn’t going to paint it and I knew repairs were just a crappy way of making it look just OK…so, we decided to go all in for a better and more permanent fix.
Fast forward to early 2016. We decided to go with Alex Garcia that owns Stucco Done Right here in Parker, Colorado.
There are definitly contractors I would stay away from but this isn’t a bash a contractor post. I can share them with you via phone call. 303-941-4663.
If you have more questions, want to see my house personally because you are considering having your home re surfaced, or need anything real estate replated i would be happy to talk to you. My direct number is 303-941-4663. I’m happy to share my experience. Steve Beam.
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