Stucco & Exterior in Burbank
How hidden building paper, sheathing and flashing change a stucco repair on older Burbank houses, and how the wall is matched afterward.
Building paper that crumbles between the fingers reshapes a Burbank stucco job. Behind older plaster the paper is the second line of defense, and once it has turned brittle the wall no longer sheds water the way it was built to. Sheathing behind it may be stained or soft. Neither condition shows until the wall is opened, so the first cut is taken at a crack or a stain.
What the opening decides
A test opening reveals paper, sheathing and the framing behind them. Dry, sound sheathing allows new paper to be lapped under the old and a patch to follow. Dark or soft sheathing means the damaged boards are cut out and replaced, and the leak behind them is chased back to a window head or a hose bib. The written scope names each of those steps, so a larger repair is explained before the work begins and not after the plaster comes off the wall.
Matching what was there
Once the layers behind the finish are right, new stucco goes on in coats that match the thickness of the old. A color is mixed to the existing wall and judged only after it dries. When large stretches have failed, one fresh coat across the wall from corner to corner can unify old and new. Window trim stays when its wood is sound and is rebuilt to the same section when it is not, with fresh paint carried over both so the facade reads evenly.
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Usually, with test patches. Hand-troweled finishes vary from wall to wall, so we study the existing texture, work a small area with different tools and wait for it to dry before judging color. Wet plaster looks darker than it ends up, which is why a dry sample matters.
Often water. A failed window flashing, a missing weep screed or a leaking hose bib sends moisture behind the plaster, and the wall moves as it dries. Framing movement can also open a crack. Hairline crazing from shrinkage is a lesser matter than a crack that grows.
Sound boards deserve repair. A rotted section can be cut out and a patch scarfed in, and fresh paint takes it from there. Boards that have gone soft give way to new ones cut to the old shape. We probe the lower courses first, where moisture settles.
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