Stucco repair costs in Boise

Boise's houses are young. Half the homes in the metro were built in 1999 or later, Census estimates show, and more than one in four went up in 2010 or after.

Where your house sits matters as much as when it was built. The city's Wildland Urban Interface overlay covers land at higher risk of wildfire. Foothills fire hazard areas generally fall in the IR1 zone, which calls for Class 1 ignition-resistant construction. Valley and desert areas are generally IR2. The rules apply to new structures and additions, and to remodels that grow a house by more than 49 percent. So repairing the stucco on the house you have doesn't bring them in. Adding a big wing on a foothills lot does, and the new walls have to meet the zone.

Boise's historic districts run on their own rules. There, the city's guidelines say siding replacement needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. Wood and smooth fiber cement are the approved siding materials, and stucco is allowed case by case. The city also warns that on older homes the scope of work can change quickly. If a crew opens a wall and finds more than your approval covers, contact planning staff to change it before the work goes on.