Stucco Crack Repair and Patching in Phoenix

Hairline cracks

Cracks that run from the corners of windows and doors are the classic ones. The corners are where the stress concentrates, and the stucco splits there first. A hairline crack gets cleaned out and filled with a flexible patching material that moves with the wall. Rigid filler cracks again in a season. Then the repair gets textured to match and painted.

Cracks that run in long straight lines across a wall often follow the seams in the sheathing or foam behind the stucco. Those get the same flexible fill, and if they keep opening, a wider patch with mesh embedded in it.

Cracks worth a second look

Most cracks are movement. A few aren't:

• Cracks that keep getting wider over months
• Stair-step cracks following the block joints in a block wall
• Cracks that appear along with doors and windows that start sticking
• A crack with a bulge next to it, which is water, not movement

If a crack looks like one of those, we'll say so, and a structural engineer should look before anything gets patched.

Holes and old fixtures

Satellite dishes, hose reels, old light fixtures, cable boxes and security cameras leave holes when they come off. So do the anchors that held them. The holes get cleaned out, the anchors come out, and the spots get patched with base coat and finish coat, textured to match. A satellite dish mount is usually a plate with four lag bolts, and it leaves four holes and a shadow where the paint didn't fade. The shadow needs paint.

Patches that don't match

A bad patch shows for one of three reasons: the texture is wrong, the patch sits proud of the wall, or the color doesn't match. Texture and height can be fixed by grinding the patch back and redoing the finish coat. Color is the harder one.

Matching the texture

Texture is matched by hand. Sand finish is a fine, even grain. Lace, the most common in the Valley, is a troweled pattern with flattened peaks. Dash is a rough splatter. Smooth is smooth, and the hardest to patch invisibly. We look at the existing wall, mix the finish to the same grain, and apply it the same way it was done originally.

Matching the color

Sun-faded paint rarely matches a fresh patch straight from the can. There are three options: paint the patch and feather it out, paint the whole wall to the corners, or leave the patch primed if you plan to repaint anyway. The quote says which one it includes.

Stucco work in the heat

Stucco cures by holding water while the cement sets. In Phoenix summer a patch can dry before it cures and crack as it shrinks. So in hot weather a fresh patch gets kept damp while it sets, and big patches get done early in the day.

Problems we fix on this page

• Hairline cracks in the stucco
• Cracks at the window corners
• Cracks that keep coming back
• Stair-step crack in a block wall
• Crack around the garage door
• Patio furniture damaged the stucco
• Can stucco cracks be patched or does the wall need redoing
• How long does stucco repair take

How it starts

Send a close-up of the crack or hole and one from far enough back to show the wall and its texture. We send back a fixed price, you say go, and Levi shows up to do it.