Stucco Inspections Houston
Providing Peace Of Mind, One Home At A Time, Since 1989!
If you're thinking about purchasing a home with stucco in the Houston area, it's important to have a professional stucco inspection. While stucco is an attractive material and common throughout Houston, it can have a number of issues which can be extremely costly to fix, and can cause extensive damage to the structure of a stucco home.
Fox Stucco Inspections Houston is here to find those issues before you purchase.
What Is Stucco?
There are generally 2 types of stucco. Conventional stucco has been used for hundreds of years, while synthetic stucco (EIFS) is newer, and was introduced in the United States in the 1960s.
Traditional hard-coat stucco is the most common type of wall cladding finish, typically installed over OSB / plywood sheathing panels. Older versions of hard-coat stucco are also installed over gypsum panels and sometimes installed directly over the wood framing.
Traditional Stucco is made of aggregates, and is somewhat similar to concrete. This is made up of Portland cement, limestone powder, sand, and water. It’s applied wet, and dries into a unique, textured, and rock-solid form, which protects the home and adds some extra visual flair.
EIFS stands for Exterior Insulation Finishing System. This synthetic stucco is made up of a polystyrene foam board, fiberglass mesh, and a finishing coat. Because EIFS cannot drain water, the system's success depends heavily on a perfect installation job — something rarely attained.
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Types of Stucco Inspections
Although there are several ways to assess your stucco, Fox Stucco Inspections has been the expert in Exterior Probe Testing for over 10 years.
Why Should Stucco Be Inspected?
Conventional stucco functions as a water barrier —meaning that, while it does repel some water, it can also absorb moisture and water, and prevent it from escaping, if the stucco is not properly built for drainage.
This can cause a variety of different problems in moist climates. Moisture can penetrate the wood wall sheathing, affect the window casings and frames, or even wear down the stud framing of the home itself. Mold growth in wall cavities is also a common issue among older stucco homes in a warm, moist environment.
In addition, many stucco jobs are done improperly, or poorly maintained. A stucco inspector can examine the stucco for issues like missing flashing, cracks, improper fasteners, missing drainage accessories, improper depth of material, and other such problems which may indicate a poor or sloppy stucco installation.
Meet Our Team
Grant Miller
Services Manager
Jared Owen
Dustin Dittrich