Help!, my new stucco is CRACKED!

[Pumapayam]

My Inspection Report from Thursday:

STRUCTURAL INSPECTION

This is a limited visual inspection of the exterior stucco siding to determine probable cause of minor hairline cracks in the stucco, which was installed within the past year. The inspector was to determine if there appears to be defects in the material, in the workmanship, or if the cracks are a result of differential movement and expansion / contraction of foundation, walls, and recently installed roof.

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STRUCTURAL

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Foundation

The foundation is a post tension cable slab. Some hairline curing cracks are noted at the concrete slab at the den and dining room/hall areas that appear cosmetic and normal, that are not structural to and do not affect structural integrity of the foundation. No cracks, gaps or other signs of differential movement except for minor gaps at master bedroom upstairs ceiling/wall joint along E wall was noted, possibly from repair of exterior wall and water ponding at E side replaced roof. Over-all walls, ceilings, jambs, trim, windows and doors appear stable and aligned. No visible excessive differential movement is noted at interior or exterior of house. Slab integrity appears stable and slab appears to be performing as intended at this time.

See “Maintenance Tips” for advice as to keeping soil consistent with good watering and landscape system to reduce deflection at foundation and structure of house.

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Interior walls, doors, ceilings, and floor

As noted, no excessive differential movement is noted at interior sheetrock at walls, ceilings, at doors, windows, jambs, trim, etc. at this time.

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Exterior walls, windows, doors, door glazing and drainage/grading

The exterior is wood trim, doors, jambs, overhang with Hardiplank siding and recently installed stucco exterior on N side and E side. As per the owner and contractor, builder Thomas Tran Park of Transtar Homes, when the old stucco was removed the supporting exterior E wall had several areas that were deteriorated or damaged due to wood destroying insects or past water penetration. When new framing, studs, beams and sheathing were installed, this could have caused resettlement and differential movement at the repaired exterior wall over the next several months. One year warranties usually cover most cosmetic items, such as minor hairline cracks as noted at the E side exterior walls.

The soil level is up to the weep screeds at the SE to E exterior wall, which will restrict heat and condensation from the wall. The soil needs lowered at least 3-4” below the stucco wall and graded away from the building for proper drainage. Also the soil shows gaps along the foundation indicating it has pulled away from the foundation in the past. Recent rains have rehydrated the soil to the foundation.

This will also create differential movement at the foundation and exterior wall, which can cause the hairline cracks noted at the still curing stucco. This, as noted, is a post tension cable system and it is designed to allow the foundation to move up and down to allow the foundation to flex without causing excessive foundation movement or failure, but as noted this can cause some differential movement at interior or exterior walls. The exposed post tension cable tendon ends need to be cleaned of rust and non-shrink mortar capped.

Recommend installing a soaker hose system as noted in “Maintenance Tips” to help keep the soil consistent and reduce foundation movement.

An initial repair to seal some hairline cracks was performed at E side a few months after the wood framed wall was repaired and the 3-coat exterior stucco wall was finished out. Since then, the modified bituminous flat roof has been over-layed with a Dura-last stretch membrane material over foam board. This roof would have added minimal weight to the roof, however the new roof has several places that pond water, and could add additional weight to the roof, after a rain, to cause deflection and differential movement at the E wall.

Recommend contacting the roof manufacturer as to what slight slope the roof covering should have in order to drain water and what is considered allowable for ponding water which may not cause a leak, however can cause excessive weight at roof and wall.

Should dips in the original roof have been leveled out before the new overlay roof was installed?

Since the new roof was installed, some additional hairline cracks up to 1/16” wide are noted.

The contractor proposes to properly repair the cracks noted at stucco with a nylon tape and stucco finish.

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Summary

In conclusion, the stucco exterior was installed at the repaired wall before the wall had time to resettle and wood to shrink since the wall had to be closed and finished over a few days time.

The cracks noted appear to be cosmetic and can be repaired. The reasons for the cracks appear to be a combination of normal foundation differential movement, resettlement/expansion contraction of the rebuilt walls and curing of the stucco, the hydration/drainage and grading of the soil and possible weight of ponding water at the roof. All of these can and will contribute to the differential movement noted and enough time has elapsed for normal settlement/expansion and contraction at the wall to have occurred for the wall to be stable. Correct watering of the soil and lowering the soil level will reduce future differential movement and checking for ponding water over 2 days after a rain and correcting drainage at roof as needed, should reduce possible deflection at the roof / wall.

When all of these items have been corrected, the chances are greatly reduced for future differential movement and cracks at the wall.

All in all, I have to get some feedback about post tension cable foundations and soaker hoses. Seems like everyone should be doing this, but this is the first time I am hearing about it, any feedback?

Also, regarding ponding, how much wieght are we talking about before a significant issue can affect the exteriors walls. If I have ponding before the roof was done, and some afterwards, why is this still an issue. Shouldn't the wall be acustomed to this?

[missmsry]

Most of the older (1910s thru 1930s) stucco homes were built with stucco over brick over wood hence not as much trouble breathing and drying out if there was moisture. Today they use tar paper or Tyvek with wire frame which isn't thick enough or strong enough. Those kind of Stucco systems fail all over the U.S., not just in our climate.