If you’re like many homeowners in Southeast Pennsylvania, you likely love the warmth, beauty, and curb appeal that stucco adds to your home. However, since your stucco exterior looks great on the outside, you may not realize your stucco has severe underlying damage.
Unfortunately, stucco is prone to costly problems, such as water damage and mold growth. Keep reading to learn what causes these issues, so you can prevent them with a reliable solution, like stucco remediation with fiber cement siding.
What Is Stucco Siding Made Of?
Stucco is made from a combination of lime, sand, cement, and water. It’s applied to your home in several layers, so it appears impermeable. However, stucco is a porous material, so when it’s installed incorrectly or becomes damaged, it’s prone to moisture intrusion.
How Does Stucco Damage My Home?
Stucco damage doesn’t happen overnight. Usually, the deterioration occurs beneath the surface of your home’s exterior over many years, so by the time you notice something suspicious—it’s usually too late to repair the problem with quick fixes. Stucco damage almost always requires restorative work, like stucco remediation.
However, you may wonder—why does stucco suffer from so much damage over time? Here’s a short summary of how the deterioration happens:
Step #1: Moisture Intrusion
Like we mentioned, stucco is a porous material, so after its installed, your exterior will soak up moisture from rain, sleet, and snowstorms—all weather conditions that are not uncommon in Pennsylvania.
Water can also sneak beneath your stucco through hairline cracks on the stucco’s surface or improperly sealed gaps between the stucco exterior and your windows, doors, roofing system, and other exterior features.
Step #2: Mold Growth
Once moisture seeps behind your stucco and makes its way into the wall cavities (made from more porous materials, like plywood, insulation, and timber)—it has no way to escape. Worse, it’s not exposed to sunlight, so it has no way to dry, leading to the next problem—mold growth.
Dark, moist environments, just like your wall cavities, are ideal for growing mold. When the mold begins to multiply, your wood framing may rot—and you won’t even know. Removing your stucco exterior is the only way to confirm moisture damage and mold growth.
Step #3: Structural Deterioration
Structural deterioration is the worst-case scenario when it comes to water damage and mold growth beneath your stucco siding—but it can happen. When the plywood of your interior walls begins rotting from the moisture and mold growth, your home’s structural support is weakened, which puts your house at risk of collapsing.
Permanent Solution: Replace Your Stucco with James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding
If you’re skeptical about your stucco siding, it’s probably a good idea to get your stucco exterior evaluated by a professional like Porter Family Exteriors. We can also help guide you toward a reliable replacement for your stucco exterior, like James Hardie fiber cement siding.
Hardie fiber cement siding is made from a blend of cement, sand, water, and cellulose fibers. Unlike stucco, it’s completely water-resistant, so you’ll never again have to worry about moisture damage, mold growth, or rotting. Plus, with so many colors and styles to choose from, you can find fiber cement products that mimic that same warmth and beauty of stucco!
Learn more about the many benefits of remediating your stucco with James Hardie fiber cement siding from Porter Family Exteriors to discover why homeowners across Southeast Pennsylvania trust this durable, long-lasting product as an alternative to stucco.
