Stucco repair costs in Detroit

Half the houses in the city of Detroit were built in 1946 or earlier, Census estimates show. That makes Detroit stucco old stucco, and you'll find it on period-revival homes.

Tudor Revival was the most characteristic house style in Detroit from 1890 to 1930, the Palmer Woods neighborhood association notes, and its homes there mix red brick, stone, stucco and slate. On a half-timbered Tudor, the stucco fills the panels between the timbers. Those seams are the weak spot. Wood and stucco move differently as Michigan swings from muggy July to a January deep freeze, and a thin gap opens along the timber. Rain runs in behind the panel, freezes, and pushes it loose.

If you see a dark stain spreading from a timber line, or a panel that sounds hollow when you tap it, water has been working back there for a while. That's a repair to the wood and the lath behind the panel, not just a skim coat on the face.

If your house is in one of Detroit's local historic districts, the Historic District Commission reviews exterior changes before anything else happens. You get its approval first, then the building permit. The city counts any unapproved exterior work as a violation, so a quiet patch-and-paint can still land you in front of the commission.