Stucco repair costs in Boston

In the city of Boston, half of all homes were built before 1940, and the classic triple-decker still sets the look of whole neighborhoods. If your house has stucco, it may date from the years when stucco was a national fad, roughly 1890 into the 1940s: a Tudor, a bungalow, a foursquare.

That age matters when you repair it. Older stucco can be soft and rich in lime. The Park Service warns that a hard portland cement patch on soft lime stucco expands and shrinks at a different rate, and the wall cracks. Before anyone fills a crack on an old wall, ask what the original mix was.

Water does most of the damage. Nor'easters are most frequent and most violent from September to April, with gale-force winds and heavy rain or snow. Rain driven sideways finds the gaps at window heads, chimneys and roof edges. So fix gutters, downspouts and flashing in the same job, or the patch won't last.

Paperwork depends on your street. The Inspectional Services Department issues a short-form permit for minor work that doesn't change the structure. If you're in one of the city's ten historic districts, like the South End or Back Bay, the Landmarks Commission signs off first, and ISD won't issue the permit until it has that approval.