If you tour different parts of Florida, you will see stucco homes. The number of stucco homes you will see in Florida if you come from outside the Southernmost parts of America will surprise you.
Why is stucco so popular in Florida? Stucco is a cheap building material that gives a house an expensive look, but it is made of sand and lime. As a result, people in Florida can build houses without spending more on it.
Stucco is noise-proof. It stops noise from outside coming into your house. Those living in the neighborhood or on busy streets find this feature most important.
With Stucco, you can comfortably insulate your home and minimize energy costs. It is expensive to cool a home in Florida.
On the other hand, with stucco, your home will be cool even during the hot season. This will save you some money on energy costs.
Why is stucco so popular in Florida?
Floridians use stucco to build their houses because it is relatively cheap. It gives a house a nice finishing look, and applying it with no concrete blockhouses is very easy.
Some regions do not like to use it because it easily damages as the house shifts and settles.
Stucco is a choice building material for siding in many regions. The advantages it has over other types of siding are numerous. We will discuss the advantages that make Floridians unanimously go for stucco.
- Aesthetically loved by many people. It gives a house a long-lasting smooth, pulled-together look that lasts for a long time. It can easily be used with stone to create designs on the house.
- It lasts very long if it is correctly installed in the right region. Stucco can last your lifetime if it is correctly installed and the house owner takes good care of it.
- You can easily repair any cracks that may occur. The house’s color will not fade because the stucco and the pigment are mixed.
- Stucco is a fire resident and is recommended by FEMA as the most fire-resistance material in the market
You may be thinking of buying a house in Florida, or you are already a house owner in Florida, and there is Stucco on the house, I would like you to consider these facts.
Things to Know About Stucco
Stucco is not water-resistant. It is as porous as cement, so it absorbs water easily. However, this is not an issue for those in arid desert climates. However, in the case of Florida, the state is humid and rainy most time.
If stucco is not correctly installed
it will hide structural damages, mold, and termite infestations. One or two of these problems may arise as soon as water penetrates the stucco.
These problems are not easy to fix, and fixing them is expensive too. When stucco is correctly installed, water will be draining from behind the siding.
Stucco needs to be maintained regularly
You have to maintain it the way you maintain every other part of your house. Not maintaining it may cause serious damage to your house. You the homeowner can carry out the maintenance yourself, like filling cracks.
You require a lot of labor to install stucco
Although the materials required are not expensive, the installation requires a skilled worker and some time. It costs more in labor to install stucco than other sidings.
You should not power wash stucco. If you use a power washer to wash stucco siding it will damage it. The damage can even lead to it absorbing water through its porous surface. This is why it is a thing of choice to clean the outside of a stucco siding.
It is hard work to change the color of stucco siding
You cannot and should not paint stucco. The walls will no doubt look good after painting, but when next you want to carry out repair work on the stucco, you have to use a sandblaster to remove the paint, do the repair and paint it again.
If you want to change the color of the stucco, you must install fresh stucco over the existing one all over the house.
It does not matter to some people that it is not easy to change the color of stucco or that it is difficult to wash the outside of the house.
They are more concerned about mold, termites, and structural damage that will harm the house. I will tell you the simplest mistakes that can be done when installing stucco.
The stucco should not be thin
An ideal stucco is about an inch thick and has many layers. If the thickness of the stucco is not good enough, it will easily be damaged by water when it cracks.
The stucco should have drainage. There must be a provision by which the water that gets into the stucco goes out. This can be done with a weep screed, a drainage mat, and a barrier between the stucco and the house wall.
Poor installation of the flashing
Putting flashing around windows helps to keep water out of the house, so where it is not correctly installed, it cannot be able to do this. When you see the color under a window changing, know that water is damaging the stucco.
Many people use Exterior insulation and finishing systems (EIFS) to create a stucco finish, but this system does not have a provision that allows water to flow out instead, it traps water in.
The stucco installers always use materials that easily get spoilt when they are exposed to water.
FAQs
Why do Florida houses use stucco?
Most of the houses in Florida are built with stucco because it is a convenient and affordable building material made of cement.
It is made into thin layers of cement and used to protect houses from the water. Ideally, a properly installed stucco is expected to last as long as the house is properly maintained.
Is stucco good for hurricanes?
A correctly installed stucco can withstand up to 150 mph tornadoes and a Category 4 hurricane. If stucco is installed in a house, the roof’s frame should not be flat.
Ensure that a house that has stucco on it will be able to withstand hurricanes and tornadoes that is at the speed of 300 miles per hour.
Can water penetrate through stucco?
People think different things about stucco walls, but the truth is that they are not waterproof. Stucco absorbs water.
Anytime you see water leaking through stucco know that the proper rules were not followed during its installation.