Project: Stucco Water Damage Repair Around a Window
This is a real job, photographed as we did it. It shows the single most important thing we tell homeowners about stucco: the damage is almost never where you can see it, and it is almost always bigger than it looks.
Have a stain or a soft patch near a window? Call (407) 456-2006 or (863) 398-3871, or get a free estimate.
What we were looking at
A two-story home, and the problem was on the gable end high above the garage, around an upper window. From the ground the wall looked tired rather than damaged: a large area of discolored, uneven stucco spreading out around the window, the sort of thing an owner walks past for a year assuming it is dirt or fading paint.
It was not fading paint. The stucco had lost its bond and was coming away from what was behind it, which on a wall like this usually means moisture has been getting in and sitting there. Opening it up is what confirmed it.
What we found once it was opened
The photographs from the middle of this job are the ones worth looking at. Once we cut the failed stucco away from both sides of the window, what was underneath was not sound wall. It was the moisture barrier - the dark weather-resistant layer that sits between the stucco and the structure and is supposed to be the last line of defense when water gets past the surface.
Exposing it told us two things immediately. First, the damage extended well beyond the discolored patch that was visible from the driveway, which is why we removed material until we reached stucco that was genuinely sound rather than stopping at the edge of the stain. Second, the water had been getting in around the window and traveling, which is exactly the behavior that makes water damage so expensive when it is left.
What a surface patch would have done here
The instinct with a wall like this is to patch the surface, or to paint over it. Both would have been a mistake. Stucco works because it can dry, and coating a wall that is already holding moisture takes away the exit while leaving the entrance. The water stays in, and everything behind the finish keeps deteriorating quietly where nobody is looking.
That is the whole reason this job involved cutting a wall open two stories up rather than filling a crack from a ladder.
The repair
The work went in the only order that lasts. We removed the failed stucco back to sound material. We addressed how water was getting past the window. We rebuilt the wall in proper coats over the barrier. Then we rebuilt the finish and matched the texture into the surrounding wall, which is the step most repairs skip and the reason so many patched walls stay visible forever afterwards.
The final photograph shows the wall rebuilt and the texture worked back in. The repaired areas are still visible as fresh, unpainted stucco at that stage - a wall at this point is sound but not yet uniform. The elevation gets its color back at the repaint, which is the step that makes the repair disappear.
What this job should tell you
If you have staining spreading around a window, an area that sounds hollow or feels soft, or paint that is bubbling rather than simply faded, the wall is very likely telling you that water has gotten behind the finish. It will not stop on its own, and it will not get cheaper.
This is what stucco water damage repair actually involves, and it is why we look for the entry point before we look at the stain. The rest of our work is on the main stucco repair page.
Get a free estimate
If your wall looks like the first photograph, do not wait for it to look worse. Call (407) 456-2006 or (863) 398-3871, or get a free estimate. Insured, more than 15 years in Central Florida, and rated 4.8 stars across 48 Google reviews. Our on-site estimate is free. (A formal stucco inspection with moisture probes and a written report is a different, specialist service, averaging around $850.)