Can Stucco Be Put on Interior Walls Made of Wood?

Stucco Basics

• Stucco is a building material similar to plaster but based on cement. In addition to cement, it contains water, sand and lime. When mixed in its claylike form, stucco exhibits malleable texture and applies easily to walls and other surfaces. As it dries, stucco hardens like plaster or concrete, forming a hard surface layer. Some stucco exhibits a high degree of porosity, allowing air to pass freely through while absorbing large amounts of liquid like water and paint.

Problems With Stucco on Wood

• Stucco expresses a number of problems when applied to wood. Wood surfaces commonly warp, expand and shift when exposed to changing levels of humidity and other moisture. The porous nature of stucco allows humid air to travel through the material and reach wood beneath it. If wood warps, expands or otherwise changes shape, stucco can crack, shift, break and even fall from walls. Despite these problems, you can apply stucco to wood walls with the help of one of a handful of relatively simple remedies.

Fixing the Problem

• Placing a sheet over a wood wall and applying stucco to this material minimizes damage resulting from changes in the shape of wood by providing a buffer between the wall and the stucco. Materials for such sheets include metal or wire lath and wood structural panel sheathing. Metal and wire lath are metal sheets with holes in them, like chain-link fences or chicken wire. Applying multiple coats of stucco may help minimize problems arising from applying stucco to wood. Installing control joints, or space into which wood expands as it warps from moisture, in walls, also helps.

Stucco on Interior Wooden Walls

• Stucco expresses no problems when properly installed within the home. Proper installation guidelines, however, vary. The authors of the “Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement” recommend covering wood walls in sheathing, tar paper and wire lath, then applying three coats of stucco to the wire lath. However, Carson Dunlop, author of “Principles of Home Inspection,” warns that stucco on any lath constitutes little more than a giant slab of cement hanging from a thin sheet of material. If the lath or sheathing loses structural integrity, the stucco can fall in huge, heavy sheets. All sources recommend the optimal method of getting stucco walls as applying it to a masonry surface like brick or concrete.