Stucco repair costs in Stockton

There's a soil named for Stockton. Stockton clay was first mapped here in 1905, and its type location sits about two miles southeast of town. The federal soil description says that as it dries, it cracks as deep as 48 inches. The cracks open at least once a year, by June or July, and close again by October or November. The survey lists urban development among its uses, so homes stand on some of it.

Plaster walls have a long history downtown. The Hotel Stockton opened in 1910, a five-story Mission Revival block wrapped in cement plaster. Its National Register nomination calls it the first known building in the San Joaquin Valley with a steel-reinforced concrete frame, set on 1,777 wooden piles over what was once part of the Stockton Channel. From 1912 through 1926 it was also City Hall, and the city's building inspectors had offices inside.

Today's inspectors look at the lath before any plaster covers it. The Building & Life Safety Division's checklist wants the paper lapped 2 inches between rows and 6 at joints, corrosion-resistant lath, and flashing at every opening. It also wants no contact between mismatched metals, and it names the usual spots: hose bibs and other copper pipes coming through the wall. Point yours out to the crew before the paper goes up.