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DIY guideOutside walls

Identify the outside walls

Brick, stucco or EIFS, vinyl or wood: what each looks like, and what each needs.

  • 10 to 20 min
  • 7 steps
  • Every step animated
Identify the outside walls: the animation’s first picture

7 steps

Tap a step to watch it again.

  1. Look at every wall: many houses have more than one kind.

  2. Hard blocks with mortar between them, and small open joints along the bottom: brick. Keep those joints open.

  3. Tap it with a knuckle. Hard and solid is stucco; hollow and a little soft is EIFS, a foam system.

  4. Overlapping strips that flex a little when pressed, with no paint to peel: vinyl.

  5. Boards or shingles with grain, painted or stained: wood. Paint and caulk keep it dry.

  6. A photo of each wall, and close ones of any cracks or gaps, for your records.

  7. Cracks in stucco or EIFS, soft or rotten wood, or bulging brick: ask Handyman for a siding or masonry pro.

What you need

  • Your phone

Call a pro if

  • Cracks or holes in stucco or EIFS
  • Soft, rotten or split wood
  • Bulging, cracked or crumbling brick

Handyman says: Cracked or soft? I'll find a pro.

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