stucco, Sun City Hilton Head, SC

[PE, retired]

"Where vertical and horizontal exterior plaster surfaces meet, both surfaces shall be
terminated with casing beads with the vertical surface extending at least ¼ in (6 mm)
below the intersecting horizontal plastered surface, thus providing a drip edge. The
casing bead for the horizontal surface shall be terminated not less than ¼ inch from
the back of the vertical surface to provide drainage."

This is not what I saw--hopefully, the pics will show.

A statement that I "keyed in" on is:
"We recommend that all soffits, even those only a few inches wide, have weeps, preferably combined with a drip function."

Mine is "a few inches wide"; my neighbor's is about an inch.

[Carl Brown]

More like where the concrete guys and the framers could not hit the same mark for square.

[PE, retired]

the first 2 are my neighbor's house.
the second 2 are my house.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Carl Brown]

So the first 2 look like casing bead.

The second 2 look like weep screed.

The mesh and acrylic products should have not been put on the concrete.  IMO  For the most part it is a good way for bugs to get into the house without being detected.

Do you have a small mirror you can hold under the wall on yours and take a picture of what you see in the mirror.

I would still worry more about the flashing around and under openings.

It also looks like a nice sunny day.

[PE, retired]

first is my neighbor's house.
second is my house.

yes, it is a beautiful day here--sunny & 75 degrees.
shorts & T-shirts are the dress for the day.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Carl Brown]

Pe,

The two pictures above are just wrong . IMO

Has anyone gotten an IR scan yet?

If not I highly recommend it I know it has been mentioned already.

[PE, retired]

for detecting moisture?

[Carl Brown]

Yes Sir.

[PE, retired]

thanks. there are a bunch here (more than 500) who are suing Pulte over stucco.
http://www.suncityblufftonhomedefectclaims.com/index.asp
it's all about defective mixing and installation, and moisture, and corrosion, etc.
it's very unpleasant; but, it is what it is. each homeowner must decide what to do--some will sue; some won't. we all wonder what our houses are really worth.

[Jay Markanich]

Ray - your pictures are worth 1000 words.  My understanding - moisture needs to be able to get out, and mesh should never be visible.  Carl is right, about the potential for moisture and for insect infestation.  You shots also show the thickness of the stucco.  It looks erratically done.  Obviously different materials, or techniques, or professionalism were used on your house as opposed to your neighbor's.

If you are going to clad a house, wood, vinyl, brick, stucco - what ever the material -- it should be installed to last longer than a couple of years.  Unfortunately for Pulte, Sun City is such a large community they are still around.  I say unfortunately not for your sakes, but for theirs.  Typically a builder wants to be done in an area, or have the problems extend, beyond the warranty period.  In this case, given the schmuckicity of the work and the numbers of home that have or will have problems, I think your case(s) will be viable long after the warranty period expires...

Again, my grandmother built the first house on a lot on a farm between Military and Reno Roads, in Chevy Chase in 1908.  You may know the area, just about a mile inside the DC line from Chevy Chase Circle.  It was clad with horizontal wood siding, which is STILL there.  Agreed, it was probably primed and painted with lead-based paints, but it is STILL there...

[Carl Brown]

With all the rain coming through the area  the next few days might be a good time for the IR.

[Barry Adair]

With all the rain coming through the area  the next few days might be a good time for the IR.

The best time would be 24-72 hrs after the rain event, depending on drying conditions and after sunset or early morning before sun hits the wall surfaces, jmo
I've had to split scans (two trips morning and night) to get conclusive factual results...but I'm a stickler, as should be your thermographer

[Carl Brown]

Hey Ray,

How is it going down there?

[PE, retired]

Carl,

about the same--folks here don't know what to do--including me. About 500 are suing Pulte (one case has been decided--www.islandpacket.com/266/story/676781.html, http://www.suncityblufftonhomedefectclaims.com/protected/PultePresidentResponseSubmission.pdf). The rest of us (in the thousands) are trying to decide what to do. Some of us, who may be planning to sell and move, and whose houses don't exhibit any outward signs of stucco distress, are struggling with the decision as to whether to sue or not.

Your expertise has been very helpful to me, and hopefully to others. Your comments, along with others (http://peretired.blogspot.com/2009/03/pulte-stucco-propaganda.html) have been helpful in sorting out the Pulte BS. Now, all we have to do is decide what to do...

Thanks for all your help.

Ray

[PE, retired]

http://peretired.blogspot.com/2009/03/thank-you-for-sharing.html