Stucco bids on a custom home can land thousands apart, and the low one is tempting. The trouble is that most of what you pay for ends up buried under the finish coat.
A crew that skips paper laps or leaves out a kickout flashing still hands you a wall that looks fine at the walkthrough. You find out after the first hard monsoon, with your name on the job.
This is the list we would use if we were hiring a stucco sub ourselves. It works on any crew, ours included.
Start with the ROC lookup
Every stucco crew in Arizona needs a state license. The ROC lookup is free on the state website, and it takes a couple of minutes.
Do not stop at whether a number exists. Read what the license says.
Status
Active, not suspended or expired. Check it again close to the start date if the bid is old.
Classification
Arizona licenses are residential, commercial or dual. A residential-only license does not cover a commercial job, so if you build both, check for both.
Name match
The business name on the license should match the name on the bid and on the insurance certificate.
Complaint history
The lookup lists open complaints and past discipline. One old complaint is not a deal breaker. A pattern is.
One exterior contract, or split trades
On a custom home the exterior is three or four trades meeting at the same wall. Lath, stucco, stone, and sometimes siding.
Split them and you can shop each price. You also own every seam between them: stone to stucco, siding to a stucco return, a roof line dying into a wall. Someone has to own the flashing at each one, and on a split job it is easy for that to be nobody.
Ask who does each part, too. Some companies that sell the whole exterior bring in licensed stone setters. That works as long as the contract puts the joint where stone meets stucco on one company.
Split trades
More room to shop each number. You run the schedule, you manage every transition, and you referee the call when a wall leaks.
One exterior contract
One scope and one schedule that cover the seams. You give up some room to shop, and you get one company to call.
The code work under the finish
This is the part a bid should spell out, because nobody sees it once the brown coat is on.
Many cities inspect the lath before the scratch coat goes on. Passing that inspection is the minimum, and these are the items worth asking about by name.
Two layers of barrier over wood sheathing
The residential code calls for a weather barrier equal to two layers of Grade D paper behind stucco on wood-based sheathing. Ask what they hang and how they lap it.
Weep screed at the base
It sits at the base of the wall, at least 4 inches above soil or 2 inches above paving. Water that gets in the wall drains out there.
Kickout flashing
Wherever a roof edge meets a wall. It turns roof water away from the stucco instead of letting it run down behind it.
Galvanized lath and accessories
Wire that is lapped and fastened to the framing, with corner bead and expansion joints where the wall needs to move.
Diamond mesh at openings
Extra metal lath at window and door corners. Code does not always ask for it, but those corners are where cracks show up first.
Straight walls, scaffolding and a clean site
You can judge all three on a visit to a crew's current job, before you sign anything.
Straight walls come from the brown coat. That layer gets floated flat with long straight tools before any finish goes on. We use Ruler tools for it, because a smooth finish shows every wave a crew leaves behind.
Look down a finished wall on their last job in low sun. Waves show at a steep angle.
Scaffolding
Proper scaffold, planked and set before the crew starts, on anything over one story. Nobody trowels a flat wall off a ladder, and a crew that skimps on its own safety will skimp on your wall.
Cleanup
Windows masked, slabs and other trades' work covered, and a set place to wash out. Cement on new windows or a finished driveway is a cost that lands on you.
The final walk
Ask for a walk of every elevation before the scaffold comes down. Touch-ups are quick while the access is still up.
Questions to ask on every bid
Put these to every sub you are comparing. The answers sort the bids faster than the totals do.
What barrier and lath are in this price?
You want the products and layers named, not just the words per code.
How thick is the brown coat, and how do you straighten it?
Full thickness, floated with straightedges. A thin brown coat is an easy place to save money you will never see.
Where does the mesh go?
Diamond mesh at every window and door corner, and mesh embeds where the wall takes stress.
Who sets the stone, and who owns the joint?
If the stone is a second company, the place where it meets the stucco still needs one owner in writing.
Is scaffolding in the number?
On a two story home it is real money. A bid without it is a smaller bid, not a cheaper one.
What does cleanup include?
Masking, cover on other trades' work, washout and a final walk. Get it on the bid so it is part of the job and not a favor.
A good stucco sub makes the exterior one of the quiet parts of your build. The owner never calls you about it.
If you want to run this list on us, start with the ROC lookup for #356836. Our license is in the CR36 class, commercial-rated and good anywhere in Arizona. Then call 602-583-4683 and ask us every question above.
