Elastomeric Stucco Paint ProsVcons

[forgeblast]

Hi all, I am thinking of painting our stucco with the elastomeric stucco paint. The top of our house is textured t111 in dark brown (an a-frame design house). The bottom is in some spots cracked beige stucco. (bought the house with the stucco color already there.)
I am looking at going with a dark cobbleston grey elastomeric paint.
Has anyone ever used this stuff. what did you use to patch any holes ahead of time.
One coat or two, and how is it holding up.
thank you for your imput.

 

[dmccarty]

Is this the "plastic" stucco?

And you are going to apply it on top of wood?

If this is what I think it is don't do it. There was a "stucco" a few years ago that created quite a few lawsuits over rotten houses. The problem was that this was not real stucco that would allow the water to dry out. Instead water that got behind the stucco from cracks or wind blown rain could not escape. This caused mold and rot.

The company selling this product should have installation instructions on the Internet. I would read the instructions and see what they say. Then go to http://www.jlconline.com and http://finehomebuilding.com and see what info you can find. JLC Online has a good forums section where they might have discussed this product or problems with it.
Also looked at Building Science Consulting. One of the principals of BSC is Joseph Lstiburek. I used one of his books to design the wall detail in my house.

Later,
Dan

 

[forgeblast]

Sorry no im not going to apply it to wood. I am going to apply it on the stucco that is under the t111. Its a beige stucco that just is not loooking right with the rest of the house. This is a paint that goes on thick and keeps mosture from permerating the stucco and block. Its expands and contracts with heat to keep the stucco from breaking even more.

 

[dmccarty]

I am going to apply it on the stucco that is under the t111.

Do you mean that the stucco is on directly on the T111 already? I'm really confused if the stucco is under the T111.

T111 to me are 4x8 panels of wood made to look like wood boards.

Is my T111 your T111?

Later,
Dan

 

[podagrower]

I do not have elastomeric paint on my house, but have applied it to quite a few. (I used to be a painter, but have repented.) The paint is very thick, not easily spray applied. We used it often on two story wood frame houses which were prone to stucco cracks. It sticks to everything and forms a very good barrier to water. The finish does have a little sheen to it, looking more like a satin finish than traditional flat exterior paint. I can't really testify to it lasting/durabuility except to say I didn't have to go back and redo any of those houses. As for patching, a quality elastomeric caulk will take care of most cracks, and small holes.

 

[forgeblast]

We have an a-frame with t111 the textured wood panel on the top 2/3 of the house and under that on the concrete block we have stucco. The original owners did not have the gutters run a way from the house most did not touch the ground they just ended at the
t111 line one of my first projects was to run all the gutters away from the house and increase the length of the gutters so that they would not splash water on the house. But by this time the stucco had begun to crack in some places.
Needless to say i want to 1. patch the cracks, 2. re color the stucco.
I found the stucco patching compound at lowes and home depot has the elastomeric paint with a life time (75 Year) warrenty. I bought both last night. I will apply the paint with a brush first around the wood line and around any windows and then using a roller with a 1 1/4 nap i will roll on the first coat. After it drys i have to do another coat. I did hear it was super thick and that it streches a bit to keep the stucco under it from cracking.

 

[dmccarty]

On the way home I think figured out what you were saying.

I would still follow the links I posted and read up on this material. As well a search the Internet for problems. At a minimum read what the installation instructions from the company. That can be an interesting read.

When I was designing our house and working on the wall detail I had to choose between using building paper over the 4x8 sheathing or one of the new fangled building wraps. After reading the installation instructions and information on the links above I went with the time tested building paper.

Many problems in a house are caused by water getting into the wall or roof. In some cases its just the nature of the material such a brick which absorbs water. The wall design and construction had better deal with the water. If not there are going to be problems.

The problem I have read with this type of paint is that if water gets behind the pain there is no easy path for the water to escape. So where does the water go and what does it do? Since you will have it on blocks it might not be a problem. But maybe it is.

If the A frame overhang is wide enough then the chance of a problem might be very small.

I still would do some reading before I used the stuff.

Later,
Dan

 

[IXLR8]

Be very careful with these Elastomeric Stucco Paints. They do last a long time, but they also seal water in the home, in the wood under the paint. As others have said, this can lead to the wood rotting. It may take 10-15 years, but you are asking for trouble. You should check out the links that others have posted. I lived in the southwest, NM & AZ for 15 yrs and know several folks who had wood rotting issues due to this stuff. I understand why folks want to use it, it does stretch and move with the house and cracks don't form. But I am surprised it is still available with the issues it can create.