So, your home's stucco is looking a little tired, huh? Maybe it's got some cracks, or maybe it just looks old-fashioned. Or perhaps you're just plain worried about what's hiding underneath. When it's time to replace it, you've got a couple of big decisions to make, and they aren't always easy. Here in Burlingame, with our coastal fog and those occasional heavy rains, picking the right approach is super important for your home's long-term health.
I'm talking about whether to go for a full stucco tear-off – that means taking everything right down to the sheathing – or to apply new stucco right over what's already there, which we call a re-stucco overlay. Both methods have their moments, but usually, one just makes a lot more sense for most homeowners around here. Let's really get into the details.
Option 1: Full Stucco Tear-Off and Re-Stucco
This is pretty much what it sounds like. We come in and carefully remove all the old stucco, right down to the original building paper and sheathing. Think of it as hitting the reset button on your home's exterior, a fresh start.
Cost
Let's be honest: a full tear-off is usually the more expensive choice upfront. You're paying for more labor to remove the old material, haul it away, and then build a brand-new stucco system from scratch. For an average-sized home, just the removal part can run anywhere from $3,000 to $14,000, and then you add the cost of putting the new stucco on. It's a bigger investment, sure, but you'll see why it's often totally worth it.
Durability
This is where the full tear-off really shines, no question. You're getting a completely fresh start, a new, properly installed system from the ground up. When we strip off the old stucco, we can inspect everything underneath – the sheathing, the framing, and all the flashing around windows and doors. This is absolutely critical because we often find hidden issues like dry rot, termite damage, or moisture intrusion that you'd never see otherwise. Especially in older Burlingame homes, the original stucco might not have had the best moisture management systems by today's standards. A full tear-off lets us correct any past installation flaws, repair underlying damage, and install a modern, code-compliant weather-resistive barrier system. This new system, when installed correctly, can easily last 50-70 years. Now that's peace of mind.
Maintenance
With a brand-new system, your initial maintenance worries are minimal. You're starting with a clean slate, after all. Like any stucco, it'll need regular cleaning and prompt crack repair, but because it's new and properly installed, you're set for decades.
Appearance
Flawless. You get a perfectly smooth, consistent finish, exactly to your specifications. There's no