Water damage · Phoenix, AZ
Water Damaged Stucco Repair
Stains, soft spots, and crumbling stucco at the base of a wall. We find where the water is getting in, then rebuild the wall from the barrier out.
The problem
Arizona gets little rain and then gets all of it at once. A monsoon cell drives water sideways at a wall that never sees moisture the rest of the year, and it finds every gap.
The damage shows up late. A dark stain near the base of a wall, stucco that crumbles when you press it, or a chalky white line where minerals leached out. By then the sheathing behind it has been wet for months.
We chase the water first. Roof scupper, window flashing, a failed weep screed, a sprinkler head pointed at the wall. Then we rebuild the layers in order so the next storm sheds instead of soaking.
- Season
- Monsoon, roughly mid June through September
- Warning signs
- Stains, soft or crumbling base, white mineral lines
- We check
- Scuppers, flashing, weep screed, and sprinkler spray
- Rebuild
- Weather barrier, lath, base coat, finish
Our fix
How we repair a water damaged wall
- 01
Find the entry point
Water travels before it shows. The stain is usually below and to one side of the real opening, so we work up the wall until we find it.
- 02
Open the wet area
We remove stucco back to dry, solid material. That footprint is almost always bigger than the stain, and we show you why before we cut.
- 03
Inspect what's behind it
Wet sheathing, rusted lath, and rotted framing all change the job. If we find them, you get told and get a number before we go further.
- 04
Rebuild the drainage path
New paper shingled correctly, flashing lapped the right direction, weep screed clear at the bottom so trapped water can actually leave the wall.
- 05
Re-coat and seal
Base and finish coats go back on in order, then an elastomeric coating over the area to shed the next storm.
Stucco is meant to get wet. It is meant to drain too.
People are surprised to hear that a stucco wall absorbs water on purpose. It always has. The system works because whatever soaks in runs down the weather barrier and exits at the weep screed along the bottom.
Damage happens when that exit is blocked. Paint sprayed across the screed. A patio pour that buried it, or gravel stacked against the wall. All three trap the water inside.
So the first thing we look at on a water call is the bottom of the wall, not the stain. Half the time the fix starts with getting the drainage path open again.
Other repairs
Seeing more than one of these?
- Stucco Mold TreatmentDark growth on shaded walls treated at the source, not painted over.
- Blistering & Bubbling RepairBubbles and soft spots in the finish coat, cut out and rebuilt down to solid material.
- Stucco InspectionA walk of every elevation before you buy, sell, or spend on repairs you may not need.
Questions
What homeowners ask us
Send us a photo of the wall and we'll tell you what we're looking at before anyone drives out.
Maybe. A stain means water has been there. Whether it caused damage depends on how long and what's behind it. A moisture check tells you in one visit, and it is far cheaper than finding out in two years.
Full services
The bigger jobs behind this repair
Ready when you are
Let's finish your exterior right.
New custom build, a full re-stucco, or a repair that needs to disappear into the wall? Send your plans or your address and get a straight, no-pressure bid.
Family-owned · Licensed & insured · Arizona ROC #356836 · Serving all of Arizona