Homeowners often wonder if it is necessary to paint stucco. The answer is absolutely!
First of all, what is stucco? Stucco is a rough substance, containing cement, sand, and water, used for covering the exterior walls of many buildings here in the Southwest. It is inexpensive to maintain provided it is painted, however problems occur when it is left unpainted. Mildew and moisture can be absorbed into the structure of your home during a sustained rain causing mold, and also by improperly aimed sprinklers. Unpainted stucco stains easily during periods of rain, which bring dirt and other pollutants into the stucco. Moisture can also cause stucco to crack and crumble.
Painting: Painting stucco with a high quality water-resistant paint provides a water barrier which helps prevent moisture from penetrating into your home while also allowing moisture vapor to escape to the outside. This keeps the interior of your home dry. The waterproof “black paper” that was installed when your home was built lasts about 30 years before it begins to degrade and crack, which can allow moisture to get inside your home. To maintain a waterproof barrier, it is therefore especially important to keep a good quality coat of paint on the outside of older stucco structures.
Fog coating: Another option to painting is to “fog-coat” your home. Fog coating is a thin watery coating of colored cement applied to the existing stucco surface. This is usually done with a plastic pump that sprays a mist of color…kind of like a fog.
The benefit of fog-coating is that the surface looks refreshed and it is cheaper than painting. But the drawback to fog-coating is it still doesn’t protect against mildew, moisture, mold and staining. You are also not able to change colors, so whatever color was popular back when your home was originally built is what you are stuck with. In addition, it is only an option if the stucco has never been painted.
Paint provides better protection than fog-coating and paint sticks to stucco extremely well and when correctly prepared, does not usually peel. Also touching up a wall tagged with graffiti is very simple and inexpensive. You can’t cover that with fog-coat.
The popularity of colors changes every decade or so and painting current attractive colors when ever you want maximizes your property value which benefits you…the homeowner!
So, if you ever wondered if you should paint your stucco-covered building, now you know. We are experts at this and would be happy to help you maintain the life & beauty of your property.
If you would like a free painting estimate, Click here to contact us today!