LESLIE: Stuart in Georgia wants to know how to seal cracks and repaint stucco home. How can we help you today?
STUART: Hey. Well, I was calling to ask you about, though – I’ve got the stucco house.
TOM: OK.
STUART: One of a kind here in East Atlanta, (inaudible at 0:02:15).
TOM: Alright.
STUART: But I’m noticing the small cracks and (inaudible at 0:02:21), nothing really serious. And it’s specifically in the paint.
And so we had it painted. About six years ago, they pressure-washed it. Did a really nice prime coat and then two top coats. It’s about time to repaint it, I think, so question is: is about six years right on repainting? So the – every six years or is there a better strategy so it’d be more complete and protect my stucco?
TOM: It feels a little light. Six years for an outside paint job seems like it – I’d rather see you try to get eight to ten years out of it. But if it needs paint, it needs paint.
Now, in terms of the cracks, is the stucco cracking or is it just the paint that’s cracking?
STUART: Both.
TOM: OK. So, for the stucco cracks, once you prime the surface and clean the old paint, before you repaint stucco home – reprime, in this case – you’re going to want to seal those. If they’re very fine cracks, like under a ½-inch in terms of width …
STUART: Oh, yeah, they’re small, very small. In width, in terms of width, like 1/8-, 1/16-inch.
TOM: OK. So you can use a crack sealant. And QUIKRETE makes one that’s designed for stucco repair, that has kind of like a sanded sort of feel to it.
STUART: Right.
TOM: And it blends in with the stucco and it’s paintable; it’s an acrylic formula.
STUART: OK.
TOM: So get some of the QUIKRETE Stucco Repair. It looks like caulk; it comes in a caulk-like tube. Designed specifically for stucco repair, though, because then you get that sanded formula and it’ll, texture-wise, kind of fit in with the rest of the stucco.
But make sure you seal up all those cracks before you repaint stucco home because otherwise, if you get water in there, then it expands and causes additional havoc. So just make sure you seal them up first and then repaint the place.
STUART: Alright. Well, thanks a whole lot. I appreciate your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, Stuart. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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