👁️ The Crack That Watched Us Back

A mildly unsettling tale of stucco and suspicion

It started as a hairline fracture—barely noticeable.

Upper-left corner of the back wall, just beneath the outdoor light. The kind of thing you see once, then forget about.

Until it showed up in every photo.

Every single one. No matter the angle. No matter the lighting. It was there. Glaring.

“Was it always that wide?”

“I think it’s growing.”

“Did it just blink?”

Okay, no—it didn’t blink. But it did get worse.

Cracks Don't Stay Quiet

In stucco systems, cracks are more than cosmetic. They’re messengers. And this one? It was starting to scream.

As fall rolled in and Houston’s air turned damp and heavy, the crack deepened. It spidered outward, catching debris in its tiny trench. After a storm, it darkened—not from shadow, but from trapped moisture.

And like all cracks left uninspected, it invited friends.

Why It Happens (And What to Do)

Stucco expands and contracts with temperature changes. Minor hairline cracks are common—but without proper drainage and flashing, water gets in. And when water enters an exterior wall system, it doesn’t leave quietly.

We’re talking:

• Discoloration and bubbling

• Efflorescence (that powdery white stuff)

• Rusting lath behind the surface

• Interior moisture damage, long after the fact

And unfortunately, by the time you see the problem, the damage has often been building for months.

That’s why we inspect.

Using tools like moisture meters and visual analysis of flashing and weep screeds, we identify cracks that are just cracks—and those that are warning signs.

Final Thought

So no, your stucco wall isn’t actually watching you.

But if you’ve got cracks appearing, widening, or multiplying, your home is trying to tell you something.

We’ll figure out what it is.

Call Stucco Inspections Houston.

We don’t just look—we listen. Even when it’s spooky season.