Stucco & Exterior in Pasadena
Non-combustible cement plaster, sealed openings and matched trim for older houses in Pasadena, where parts of the city are in fire hazard zones.
Cement plaster does not burn. That fact carries weight in Pasadena, where mapped fire hazard zones cover portions of the city and a lot may face ember-resistance rules. A plaster skin helps only when the weak points are closed too: vents, the gap under the eaves and the edges of every window. For an older house, the repair plan covers the entire envelope.
Closing the weak points
Embers find openings and ignore flat walls. Attic vents are covered with fine metal mesh, eave gaps are boxed in, and the joint between a window frame and the plaster is sealed with flashing that also keeps rain out. Stucco is carried down to a metal weep screed at the base so water can leave the wall. Wood trim that touches the plaster is primed on every face, including the hidden ones, before it goes up against the wall, so moisture cannot creep in behind it.
Matching the old finish
Hand-troweled texture is hard to copy, so test areas come first. We try small patches until the pattern and the color blend with the wall beside them. Where much of the wall has failed, a single new finish coat runs the full width and brings old and new together. Original wood siding stays wherever the boards are sound, and any board that must go is cut to the shape of its neighbor, so the lines of the house read the same from the street.
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Usually, with test patches on the wall itself. Troweled finishes carry the marks of the hand that made them, so we try different floats and brushes and compare the dried result. The closer the color coat is matched, the less a repair shows.
Water is a frequent cause, entering at a poorly flashed window or a blocked weep screed. Settled framing or a wall that flexes can split the finish as well. A crack that reopens after patching points to movement or moisture, so the wall is opened at that spot.
Repair it when the boards are sound, since patches and paint carry original siding a long way. Replace what has rotted, matching the old shape. Inside a mapped fire hazard zone, a replacement that resists embers can be worth pricing for the lower courses.
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