Stucco repair costs in Louisville

Cold and wet is the story for stucco in Louisville. 2018 was the wettest year on record at the airport, 68.83 inches, almost two feet above normal. Winter turns some of that water into ice. Rain that soaks into a hairline crack freezes, swells and pries the crack wider, so a crack you shrug off in November can be a loose patch by March.

Spring comes late for this kind of work. The National Park Service's guide to stucco repair says not to do it below 40°F or when there's a danger of frost. In central Louisville, the last spring freeze has landed in the week of April 9 to 15 more than 30 times since records began in 1871. The earliest fall freeze on record came on October 3. So the real season for patching or a re-coat runs from late spring into early fall.

If your house is old, find out what's on the wall before anyone patches it. The same guide says stucco was mostly lime-based until the late 1800s, and that portland cement took over after about 1900. Hard cement stucco and soft lime stucco expand and shrink at different rates, which usually makes the wall crack. A patch that matches the old mix lasts longer than a strong one that doesn't.