How to Maintain Stucco Homes

Stucco creates a three-dimensional and attractive look for home siding, while providing a house with a strong outer layer. Like any siding material, stucco needs maintenance to get the longest possible life. Temperature, shifting walls, moisture and impact damage can crack and flake stucco. Over time, as the original stucco gets damaged, this can lead to walls look pock-marked. Be prepared to perform periodic upkeep if you purchase a home with stucco walls.

Garden hose
Stucco cleaner
Stucco
Stucco patch compound
Paint

Instructions

- 1
  Clean your stucco walls regularly with water. Wash the walls with no more pressure than you get from a garden hose. Don't use a pressure washer or strong chemicals. Use a cleaning product recommended by the maker of the stucco on your home.
- 2
  Inspect the walls during the spring, summer and fall. If you find cracks, these need to be repaired. Cracks should not be repaired during the cold winter months. Once the temperature drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, stucco should no longer be repaired.
- 3
  Save the stucco can from when you originally had the walls done. If you notice a crack in the wall, apply some of the original mixture on top of the crack to patch it. If you don't have any of the original compound, buy a patch compound for stucco and follow its directions for cracks.
- 4
  Remove any peeling paint if your stucco has been painted. Repaint the areas where you've had to remove paint to keep the wall looking good and to protect the stucco. If you have a lot of cracks on an old stucco wall and aren't up to re-doing the entire wall, painting it is a way to give it fresh life.
- 5
  Call a professional if you start to see cracks that are wider than 1/8 inch. Once you can see the surface the stucco was applied to through the crack, it needs to be fixed and sealed properly by a professional.

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