Siding over stucco?

[greatwhite]

My daughter and her boy friend have bought their first house, the outside is stucco however they want to have siding. Do you have to remove the stucco or can you just strap over the stucco and put on new siding? Should they also still put new insulation and wrap?

This isn't something I have any experience in so I told her I would help her look.
Has anyone on here done this?

[js4fn]

Think I’d wrap house with thin blue foam just to make sure stucco is held in place and siding would have slippery surface to expand and shrink on shrugs

[gbk]

I believe-no offence to anyone here ,it would be best to ask someone really expert in stucco.
The stucco-if it was done improperly, can create many nasty things. Especially in cold climate on framed houses.
Insulating and covering it with siding may cover up issues.
Pay someone reputable professional few hundred dollars ,and sleep well.
In the big scheme of the house purchase-few 100 $ are peanuts.

My 2 cents.

[Birdbuff]

I can’t see why you couldn’t put furring strips over the stucco and attach the siding that way. The stucco itself is usually set on foam which has a small R value. As long as you can screw the furring strips into the studs behind the foam you should be ok.

The way I have seen it done is that the exterior of the walls is covered in a product that looks like drywall but has a fibreglass sheet exposed. One of the brands we use is denseglass. The stucco guy applies a thin set to adhere a 2” styrofoam board to the denseglass. Then he shapes and sands the foam so it’s straight/flat and seemless. After that the actual stucco is applied.

If applying furring strips (1x4, etc.) you will need 4” screws probably.

Hope this helps.

[sawbill]

Geez, I always thought stucco was attached to a wire mesh.

[Jakezilla]

Geez, I always thought stucco was attached to a wire mesh.

Depends on the age of the stucco. The old stucco was a thin cement like coat over wire mesh and then a finish on top. Newer stucco is a very thin base coat and then a finish put on over a styrofoam base.

[greatwhite]

She asked to companies and got two answers, that's why she asked me to find out.

I believe-no offence to anyone here ,it would be best to ask someone really expert in stucco.
The stucco-if it was done improperly, can create many nasty things. Especially in cold climate on framed houses.
Insulating and covering it with siding may cover up issues.
Pay someone reputable professional few hundred dollars ,and sleep well.
In the big scheme of the house purchase-few 100 $ are peanuts.

My 2 cents.

[greatwhite]

Yes they would strap it, I can't see the house because she lives in Saskatchewan but from the pics she sent the stucco does not appear to have cracked. The house was probably made in the 1970's.

[MarkB]

I believe-no offence to anyone here ,it would be best to ask someone really expert in stucco.
The stucco-if it was done improperly, can create many nasty things. Especially in cold climate on framed houses.
Insulating and covering it with siding may cover up issues.
Pay someone reputable professional few hundred dollars ,and sleep well.
In the big scheme of the house purchase-few 100 $ are peanuts.

My 2 cents.

I agree, I wouldn't mess around ... and I'm not getting overly excited here. I've GC'd 3.5 home builds, so I know this stuff. So many flags come up, for instance the foam is pretty thick behind the stucco, so I'm not sure how that siding will be properly anchored ... a bit of wind, and you could lose half a wall. Also as you mention, who knows what starts happening when you cover it up, and you go through various seasons (expansion, contraction, condensation).

[MarkB]

Yes they would strap it, I can't see the house because she lives in Saskatchewan but from the pics she sent the stucco does not appear to have cracked. The house was probably made in the 1970's.

Was the stucco applied back then? The systems they used then are different to now. I think my stucco (done 4 years ago) has a 1.5" to 2" thick foam behind it. It's pretty thick. I had to drill through it around my air conditioner, to get a new low voltage line back to the furnace ... it was crazy thick ... so I don't know how they secure the siding if it was that thick. Perhaps the older systems weren't as thick, but have them tread with care ... this could be one of those situations where they spend a lot of money and regret it in a year from now ... then they're stuck with a mess. Rather speak to the pro's.

Another option by the way is to apply a veneer on top of that stucco. Not sure if they thought of that ... or want that. But that would probably be a better option, as you are gluing onto the stucco. There's all kinds of veneer options now ... I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a faux wood plank option too ... which will give them a similar (and probably nicer) look than siding.