stucco

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from http://schhresidents.forumco.com/

"You may have noticed that a house in that area was recently gutted, with all the stucco, sheathing, etc. removed. He (a home inspector) inspected the house. Not a normal inspection, but one seeking to determine whether there is moisture in the walls and whether there is mold growing inside the structure. (The home inspector) uses a FLIR camera (that is Forward Looking Infrared). By use of the camera he can determine the presence of moisture inside the walls and other structures of the house.

(He) found significant moisture problems caused by the incorrect application of the Tyvek sheathing and the stucco lath. Instead of one attachment every 18 inches as called for by the manufacturer, there were attachments every 2” to 3” across the entire surface of the house. This caused the moisture to back up inside the walls and ultimately led to the growth of the mold.

We discussed the stucco application, the problems with the control joints and a separate problem associated with the installation of the hurricane shutter brackets. When the H channel at the top is installed, each bolt that is inserted is supposed to be coated with silicone to prevent water from entering. This was not done in any home that he has inspected to date. Further, the builder put a strip of silicone across the top of the H channel, which causes water to be collected and not drained as planned by the manufacturer of the stucco product.

Pulte, faced with the results of his inspection and the photos taken by his FLIR camera, agreed to fix the house in question. He has since found at least 3 other houses in the area that have similar problems."
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