How Much Does It Cost to Stucco a House?

Are you trying to figure out which type of siding is going to look best on your home? The variety of available options can make finding the right type of siding difficult. While exploring your options, don’t forget about the merits of stucco.

Stucco is a remarkably versatile exterior coating and you can use that quality to your benefit. During installation, you can form the stucco siding in such a way that it creates a distinctive look. You can also tint the stucco if you want more colorful siding for your home.

Installing new layers of stucco siding over your home is not going to come cheap. You can expect the overall cost of adding the new stucco siding to reach $12,000. The labor costs for this type of installation typically climb to $2,500. The average cost of repairing damaged stucco siding is also quite pricey at $500.

Covering your home with a layer of stucco siding is a great way to change up its appearance. The textured appearance of stucco is not something that can be replicated and you want it to enhance your home. Find out more about how much installing stucco siding will cost by continuing with this article.

If you want stucco siding for your home, you will need to decide which material mixture you want to use. Homeowners can choose from two main material compositions for stucco. Those are acrylic and cement.

The material composition you choose matters not just because of cost. It also affects the quality of the siding that will go on your house. The texture, flexibility, and adaptability of the stucco siding are all affected by the material you select.

Stucco mesh is not one of the materials you can choose for your home’s siding. Still, it’s a material you may need as the stucco layers are being installed.

Let’s learn more about the materials necessary to create stucco siding. The details included below will give you great insight into what you’re choosing.

Acrylic is your first option when it comes to the material composition of your stucco. It’s the more expensive option at $0.40 per square foot.

The main selling point of acrylic stucco is how well it holds up. It’s a flexible material and that quality prevents it from cracking easily. You can also choose from multiple color options if you’re installing stucco siding. That should prove helpful if you’re adhering to a specific color scheme for your home.

Acrylic stucco can also be installed without using a mixer. The simpler installation process for acrylic stucco can be very convenient.

You’ll be thankful that acrylic stucco can be installed quickly because it dries out quickly too. Get everything ready beforehand because you don’t have a lot of time to add the layers.

Whereas acrylic stucco is prized for its flexibility, cement stucco is valued for its texture-based versatility. You have a near unlimited amount of options when it comes to choosing the texture for the cement coating. Make use of that texture versatility at the cost of $0.10 per square foot.

Unfortunately, maintaining color can be an issue with cement stucco. Certain cement colors tend to wear down and fade over time. The cement stucco siding you installed may not look the same after just a few years and that can be an issue.

As noted earlier, stucco mesh is not one of the available material choices for siding. Think of it more as necessary support for your new installation that’s sold at $0.70 per square foot.

Stucco mesh is helpful because it allows the stucco to bond better with your exterior walls. The mesh helps keep the layers of stucco in place as they dry.

Using stucco mesh is also smart because it keeps the layers from cracking. You can extend the lifespan of your stucco siding by using mesh to reinforce it.

If pieces of your stucco siding do break off, the mesh will catch them. Those pieces that have broken off won’t cause a mess in your yard.

The size of your home is a major consideration when you’re applying stucco siding. Let’s start by considering the cost of installing stucco siding over a 1,000 square-foot house. To finish that installation project, you will have to pay $9,500.

If you’re talking about a house that measures 1,000 square feet, that means it’s on the smaller side. The good news is you can pretty much count on the cost of the project remaining in that $9,500 range. It won’t change that much even if the installation required for your home is a bit more complex.

Moving up to a 1,500 square-foot house will cause the cost of installing stucco to increase accordingly. You’re now looking at a $12,000 bill if you want to install stucco siding of that size. That should be just enough stucco siding to cover a small two-story home.

For $14,000, you should be able to install stucco siding over a home that measures 2,000 square feet. The amount of stucco siding you’re installing will be enough for a moderately sized two-story home.

Of course, the costs will only continue to rise from there. You’re likely looking at a bill over $20,000 if your home is at 3,000 square feet or just a bit larger than that.

Folks who need to cover a 5,000 square-foot home with stucco siding can expect to spend $35,000. That’s a lot of money for sure, but many will argue that the benefits of stucco siding are worth the high cost.

Stucco installation is a complicated job that is best left up to professionals. When you enlist the help of professionals, it’s best to know beforehand just how much their services might cost. For this specific project, they will likely charge you $2.50 per square foot of installed stucco siding.

To install stucco, the workers will often start by covering your home with weather wrap. Once the weather wrap is in place, the workers can start installing the stucco mesh. More often than not, the stucco mesh will be required to ensure proper installation.

Three layers of stucco will then be added to your home. They will be introduced at different intervals. The material you chose for your siding will determine how long you have to wait before the layers can be added.

The makeup of your exterior will factor into the cost calculations for stucco installation. Let’s start by taking a closer look at how much you need to spend to install stucco over brick walls. Installing stucco over the brick walls of a 1,000 square-foot house will cost $8,500.

For a 1,500 square-foot house, the cost of installation goes up to $10,500. You’ll be saddled with a bill of $12,500 if you want stucco covering the brick walls of your 2,000 square-foot house.

Installing stucco siding over brick walls is simpler and more affordable compared to similar projects. Or at least it could be. That will depend in large part on the condition of your brick walls.

As long as the brick walls are in good condition, the installation process will be very straightforward. Stucco mesh may not even be required if you’re adding the coatings to a brick wall.

If the brick walls are not in good condition, you will have to patch them up first. You can patch their holes up using hydraulic cement.

Covering your exterior wooden walls with stucco siding is also an option worth considering. Compared to the cost of installing stucco over brick walls, installing stucco over wood is more expensive. To cover the wooden walls of your 1,000 square-foot house with stucco, you’ll have to spend $10,700.

Installing stucco over the wooden walls of a 1,500 square-foot house will cost $12,800. The bill will reach $15,000 if your home measures 2,000 square feet.

If you’re wondering why it costs more to install stucco siding over wood compared to brick, there’s a reason for that. You cannot install stucco coatings directly over wood like you can with brick. That’s the case even if the wooden surfaces in question are in good shape.

You will have to install additional materials before you can cover the wood with stucco. Thankfully, those materials are not hard to find.

The materials you will need are the weather wrap and stucco mesh. As soon as they are installed over your wooden walls, you can go ahead and introduce the layers of stucco.

The layers of stucco you previously installed in your home may have been damaged. Since those layers of stucco are falling apart, you want to re-apply the coatings and restore the appearance of your home. You’ll have to pay $4.50 for each square foot of additional stucco.

That figure may appear high relative to the numbers we provided earlier. Do note however that it already includes the cost of the new materials as well as labor.

Applying new layers of stucco is mainly done to fill in openings on your home’s siding. However, it’s also a good option to consider if you want to change the appearance of your home. Choose a different color or texture for the stucco and transform your home that way.

Homeowners should know that simply applying more stucco is not always an option. Before additional material can be introduced, the spot previously occupied by stucco may have to be cleaned thoroughly.

Fail to clean those spots and they may not accommodate the new stucco. The bits of debris left behind may get in the way of the new stucco adhering as intended.

Consider power washing the surface before you install the new layers of stucco. Ask the professionals to power wash the surface for you.

Power washing carelessly can damage layers of stucco you don’t want to get removed. The professionals can protect those portions of your home’s siding better. Expect to pay $300 if you want your home’s siding power washed.

Prevention is better than cure. That’s the case for our health as well as the condition of your stucco siding. By resurfacing your siding at the average cost of $4 per square foot, you can prevent the onset of stucco-related issues.

So, what is the purpose of resurfacing your stucco siding? The idea behind resurfacing is to create a new layer of material over the stucco siding. The addition of that new skin benefits the stucco siding in a few ways.

First off, the reinforced skin protects the stucco siding. It will stop cracks from forming on the surface of the stucco siding and effectively ruining its appearance. If your stucco siding has proven prone to cracking, resurfacing could turn out to be very helpful.

Resurfacing grants additional protection against more than just cracking. You can also count on it to hold up well against strong wind and torrential rains. Those forces of nature will be less of a threat to your home décor after the stucco has been resurfaced.

The reinforced skin also enhances the appearance of your stucco siding. It can cover the small cracks that have already appeared. Your home’s stucco siding will look good as new after resurfacing.

Another thing you should know about resurfacing is that it doesn’t change the appearance of the stucco. If you already like the appearance of the stucco, the reinforced skin will not change it.

Reapplying new layers of stucco and resurfacing are different ways to restore your siding. However, going for such drastic measures is not always required. Sometimes, paying $500 to get your home’s stucco siding repaired is good enough.

Repairing is a suitable solution if the issues affecting your siding are mostly cosmetic. Most repairs for stucco siding involve filling up any gaps and cracks that have opened up. You can hire professionals to handle those repairs if you don’t feel confident administering them yourself.

It’s worth trying to repair the cracks on your own if they are small enough. You don’t even need special materials to make the repairs.

You can repair small cracks – those that measure no wider than 1/2 of an inch – using some caulk and a caulk gun. Slowly fill the opening with the patching material to seal it up.

Larger cracks should be filled using a pre-mixed stucco patch. A pre-mixed stucco patch is easy to apply. Just use a trowel to add one layer of the material, then let that dry before adding another layer.

Apply as many layers of the patch as needed to cover the cracks. Take note that not all cracks on the stucco siding can be repaired that way.

For the most part, only the horizontal cracks are the ones that can be repaired easily. The aforementioned repairs won’t work on vertical cracks.

The emergence of vertical cracks indicates that there’s something wrong with the foundation of your home. Address that issue with the help of professionals.

Hopefully, the issues affecting your stucco siding can be addressed through repairs, resurfacing, or re-stuccoing. Unfortunately, some issues are beyond repair. Your only option may be to remove the stucco for $1,400.

Stucco removal should be seen as a last resort. It’s what you should do if you’ve concluded that the stucco coating your home is beyond repair.

How can you tell if the stucco siding should be removed? There are some warning signs you can watch out for.

Related Questions

Does Stucco Increase Home Value?

Stucco coatings increase home value. They also make homes more appealing to a larger number of buyers.Buyers are drawn to stucco coatings because they appreciate the distinctive look it provides. You’re not getting that type of look with other exterior coatings.People also like stucco because it’s a practical home addition. It provides insulation, dampens outside noises, and even slows down the spread of fires.

How Long Does Stucco Last on a House?

Assuming proper care and maintenance, you can count on stucco coatings to last for a long time. They are capable of lasting for up to 70 years.Get your stucco siding inspected regularly if you want to be sure that it lasts as long as possible. On average, you will have to pay $300 for a stucco inspection.

Should You Paint over the Stucco?

Painting over the stucco is not recommended for a few reasons. For starters, painting the stucco means you’re taking away its ability to quickly ward off moisture. Stucco needs to breathe so moisture cannot accumulate over it and paint will get in the way of that.Repairs could also become more complicated if you painted the stucco. The paint will have to be removed first if you want to add a new layer of stucco. That will lead to longer and more expensive repairs.Adding paint to stucco also means more maintenance requirements on your end. Ask yourself if you’re okay with taking on those added tasks before painting over the stucco.