DIY guideOutside walls
Look at every place something goes through the stucco
Walk round the stucco and look where every pipe, vent, light and outlet comes through: a crack or gap there lets water behind the wall.
- 20 min to 1 hr
- 7 steps
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Walk round the house and find every place something goes through the stucco: pipes, vents, lights, outlets, taps and cables.
Look closely at the edge round each. The sealant should be soft and touching both sides, with no gap.
Look for cracks running out from each one's corners, and from the corners of windows.
Look under each for dark streaks, white crust or bubbling paint: signs of water getting behind.
Cut out cracked sealant, wipe the edge clean and dry, and run a bead of exterior sealant made for stucco.
Work from the ground or a step stool only.Never seal the metal edge along the bottom of the stucco: water behind the wall drains out there.
Wide cracks, stucco that sounds hollow or feels soft, or stains spreading below: ask Handyman for a stucco pro.
What you need
- Exterior sealant made for stucco, and a caulking gun
- A utility knife
- A rag
- A flashlight
Call a pro if
- Cracks wider than a hairline, or growing
- Stucco that sounds hollow or feels soft
- Stains or bubbling spreading below a vent or light
Handyman says: Don't patch it. I'll find a stucco pro.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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