bubble on stucco wall after raining

Posted by norminn@earthlink.net on October 15, 2009, 8:49 am

dadiOH wrote:

> DD_BobK wrote:

>>> DD_BobK wrote:
>>>> Contrary to "normal" practice...stucco should not be painted.
>>> You like grey?
>>> Say...are you that guy in Arizona (or maybe New Mexico)? The one who
>>> thinks the way to handle stucco is to add more?

>> the scratch coat, the brown coat and the finish (aka color) coat

>
> Ah, OK, that's workable. Trouble is, around here at least (central
> Florida), the stucco guys don't like to use color in stucco because of the
> difficulty in maintaining the same color batch to batch.
>

I don't think I've ever seen unpainted stucco in Florida - it would grow
mildew/mold like mad. Semi-gloss paint is most common.

Posted by bud-- on October 15, 2009, 11:42 am

DD_BobK wrote:

>> My house has stucco wall. Few month ago I had it painted with
>> elastomeric paint. Today we had our first major storm of the season,
>> with winds blowing the rain side ways hitting the southern wall. I am
>> in San Francisco bay area.
>> After the rain, I noticed part of the wall have lots of bubbles. Some
>> are small, some are larger.
>> Here are some pics:
>> http://picasaweb.google.com/raychi/2009_10_13_WallBubble?authkey=Gv1s...
>> I only see this on the southern wall. The rest of the house seems ok..
>> Googling a bit, this indicates water has gotten behind the paint, and
>> are pushing the paint out?
>> Did I made a big mistake going with elastomeric paint on my house? Did
>> the painter do a bad job? What do I need to do to fix the problem?
>> Please help, the raining season has just started.
>> Thanks.

Note that some answers here are based on stucco over cement block
(common in Florida) and some are based on a wood frame building with
stucco, typically over a wood substrate. Answers for one are not
necessarily appropriate for the other.

And in the second case you could have the 'modern' EFIS stucco. I that
case, IMHO, you need an expert opinion. There are horror stories
involving EFIS.

I assume you have conventional stucco and a wood frame house.

> Contrary to "normal" practice...stucco should not be painted.

Ask a stucco contractor what should be used and if "elastomeric paint"
is a good idea. Or you could ask a *good* paint store.

I agree that it is best not to paint stucco. I would rather "redash",
which is a thin layer of stucco with pigment. That keeps the surface a
low maintenance stucco finish. Painting turns the surface into a much
higher maintenance painted surface.

I have always been told that if paint is used it must "breathe". This is
particularly true in older houses that do not have the effective vapor
barriers used in new construction. The vapor that escapes the house into
the wall must easily escape through the stucco. If trapped by paint you
can have headaches like peeling paint and rusting metal lath.

I understand elastomeric as a paint that does not breathe.

To get all the paint off of stucco sandblasting is commonly used.

--
bud--

Posted by ransley on October 14, 2009, 7:36 am

> My house has stucco wall. Few month ago I had it painted with
> elastomeric paint. Today we had our first major storm of the season,
> with winds blowing the rain side ways hitting the southern wall. I am
> in San Francisco bay area.
> After the rain, I noticed part of the wall have lots of bubbles. Some
> are small, some are larger.
> Here are some pics:
> http://picasaweb.google.com/raychi/2009_10_13_WallBubble?authkey=3DGv1s..=

> I only see this on the southern wall. The rest of the house seems ok..
> Googling a bit, this indicates water has gotten behind the paint, and
> are pushing the paint out?
> Did I made a big mistake going with elastomeric paint on my house? Did
> the painter do a bad job? What do I need to do to fix the problem?
> Please help, the raining season has just started.
> Thanks.

You should be thinking stripping off, paint remover is sold in 50
gallon drums, I hope it doesnt come to that, but it all has to be
sound and bonding or your nightmare will only be begining.

Posted by Sacramento Tim on October 16, 2009, 10:55 am

Sacramento Tim had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/bubble-on-stucco-wall-after-raining-400104-.htm
:
I have the same problem as Raymond. I live in Sacramento and had the same
storm roll through, only my home is new construction. Again, only one
wall was affected, but unlike Raymond, it was the North Wall. I was
meeting another contractor and noticed the entire two storey imperfect
smooth stucco wall was covered by water blisters that were mostly small.
The other three walls were fine.

The paint was applied during the hot Sacramento summer. Again, the day
after the rain the bubbles were gone, but the paint, and bubbles were
easily wiped off the stucco surface when they present.

The contractors, of course, are claiming that this is merely cosmetic and
the house merely needs to be heated and the problem will disappear. That
sounds problematic to me, that there must be moisture trapped and that if
in fact the paint isn't breathable and is an impermable membrane, then the
problem will recur if the heat is off during the winter.

The general claims that he contacted the paint manufacturer, but I'm
sceptical as I've caught him in previous misrepresentations..the architect
asserts that now that everyone has been pout on notice that there is a
year to remediate, but I'm thinking that my leverage is gone at that point.

Advice?

Sh
Raymond wrote:

> After the rain, I noticed part of the wall have lots of bubbles. Some
> are small, some are larger.

> Here are some pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/raychi/2009_10_13_WallBubble?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKN6tPks6KX5QE&feat=directlink

> I only see this on the southern wall. The rest of the house seems ok..

> Googling a bit, this indicates water has gotten behind the paint, and
> are pushing the paint out?

> Did I made a big mistake going with elastomeric paint on my house? Did
> the painter do a bad job? What do I need to do to fix the problem?
> Please help, the raining season has just started.

> Thanks.

-------------------------------------

Posted by norminn@earthlink.net on October 16, 2009, 12:02 pm

Sacramento Tim wrote:

> Sacramento Tim had written this in response to

> :
> I have the same problem as Raymond. I live in Sacramento and had the same
> storm roll through, only my home is new construction. Again, only one
> wall was affected, but unlike Raymond, it was the North Wall. I was
> meeting another contractor and noticed the entire two storey imperfect
> smooth stucco wall was covered by water blisters that were mostly small.
> The other three walls were fine.
>
> The paint was applied during the hot Sacramento summer. Again, the day
> after the rain the bubbles were gone, but the paint, and bubbles were
> easily wiped off the stucco surface when they present.
>
> The contractors, of course, are claiming that this is merely cosmetic and
> the house merely needs to be heated and the problem will disappear. That
> sounds problematic to me, that there must be moisture trapped and that if
> in fact the paint isn't breathable and is an impermable membrane, then the
> problem will recur if the heat is off during the winter.
>
> The general claims that he contacted the paint manufacturer, but I'm
> sceptical as I've caught him in previous misrepresentations..the architect
> asserts that now that everyone has been pout on notice that there is a
> year to remediate, but I'm thinking that my leverage is gone at that point.
>
> Advice?

Conversation with the OP has been somewhat confusing, goin' around in
circles. It certainly seems logical that the moisture came from
wind-driven rain, esp. with the OP because he had no bubbles until after
the storm. Just about all home construction in coastal Florida is
stucco on concrete block, always painted. Most paint with
latex/acryllic semi-gloss to keep down mold/mildew. After the
hurricanes in 2005, there were a number of news articles about rain
driven through walls by force of the wind. Older homes had less damage
because they had more coats of paint. It seems at this point it would
be wise to find out from local weather sources how forceful the wind was
and then to contact both the paint company (if known) and insurance
company. Might be worth contacting a local news blog to see if others
have the problem.

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