Pulte stucco propaganda

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In a 3/26/08 letter Derek Morgan, Customer Relations Director for Pulte's South Carolina Coastal Division, states:

“These homeowners have notified Pulte/Del Webb representatives that certain home inspectors have told them that the holes in the weep screeds are for drainage and that the holes should not be coated with stucco. Such statements are incorrect. The stucco manufacturers for Sun City have confirmed that "the holes are for keying of the stucco and NOT FOR DRAINAGE. The stucco manufacturers further indicated that weep screeds with or without holes may be used, and that "finishing the accessories themselves (with stucco) is an aesthetic consideration.”

In
SOFFIT/WEEP SCREEDS IN CEMENT PLASTER (STUCCO) CONSTRUCTION
Thomas K. Butt, FAIA
November 8, 2004
http://www.intres.com/inpage/pub/Characteristics_of_Stucco.pdf
Architect Butt states:

“In a properly designed stucco clad wall, water from these breaches (cracks at stucco control joints) is expected to penetrate no further than the WRB (weather resistive barrier) and exit the wall base at a weep screed or dissipate through evaporation.

There are limits, however, to the volume of water a stucco clad wall system can successfully handle. When these limits are exceeded, the WRB and related flashing materials, which are often made of asphalt saturated paper or felt, can disintegrate and become useless. Limiting the volume of water penetrating stucco cladding is typically accomplished by one or more of the following design and construction strategies:
• Limiting cracking by using appropriately low water-cement ratios and proper curing.
• Flashing penetrations and terminations successfully.
• Providing weeps at wall bases and soffits.

Without a soffit weep, water can become trapped on the inside of the stucco soffit and easily find its way through breaches in the WRB to the framing and sheathing, typically at laps, terminations and fastener holes.
We recommend that all soffits, even those only a few inches wide, have weeps, preferably combined with a drip function.”

The statements don’t square, do they? Imagine that. I wonder who SCHH residents should believe?

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