Point 9 of my 12 point list of methods for reducing cracking in

 portland cement stucco


             Point nine - Protecting the work after it's finished.

 

cracked
                up and loose stucco stucco
                removed

Badly cracked up and loose stucco
caused by leaking roof cap
An ounce of prevention is worth 3,000 lbs.
of cure. Whole wall is stripped down to block.
This assures a nice job. Patches almost always show.
         
leaking
                coping flashing coping
                flashing reworked
 
The culprit was this roof cap. Water runs
right down the cove in the cap and gets behind the stucco.
Bottom cap is removed and pushed under
the upper cap. The overlap prevents water infiltration. This would have been prevented
if the bottom piece was put on first, 30 years ago.

Protecting the work after it's finished is out of the control of the plasterer. All I can
do is insist that things like roof caps are done, but I don't put them on.
The material we work with lasts pretty much forever, as long as water doesn't 
run behind the wall.
This example of a block wall is bad enough. Wood framed walls require more
attention. If the wall isn't capped immediately after the stucco is finished,
water infiltration can cause warping of the framing lumber, cracking the stucco.
Lack of
                coping flashing damages stucco
Badly spalled block and stucco 

wall will have a new roof cap when we
replace the stucco.

kick out
                flashing We put on a kick out flashing to
divert water into the gutter.
Not beautiful, but it keeps water
from running behind the wall.

All horizontal members on tudor style 
stucco should be flashed , like
over windows, before the metal lath
goes on.
tudor
                style tudor style stucco flashed

Stucco
                falling off Why wait until it looks like this?