Stucco repair costs in Trenton

New Jersey draws a clear line on small exterior jobs. Under the state's Uniform Construction Code, ordinary maintenance can be done without filing a permit application or even notifying the construction official. That category includes repairing or replacing existing siding on a one- or two-family home. It doesn't include cutting away a load-bearing wall or any portion of one, or removing or cutting a structural beam.

For a stucco owner in Trenton, that line matters. A patch over a crack, or a re-coat over sound backing, may fall on the maintenance side. Once a contractor opens the wall and starts replacing rotted framing, the job has crossed into permit territory.

The city's houses are old enough that opening a wall can turn up surprises. About 38 percent of homes in Trenton were built before 1940, and the median home in the city dates to 1953, by the Census Bureau's count. Across the wider metro, which takes in Princeton, the share built before 1940 drops to about 17 percent.

If your stucco sits on brick, a crack in it can mean the coat has let go of the masonry behind it. The National Park Service's stucco guide notes that areas that have lost their grip echo with a hollow sound when tapped gently with a wooden mallet, so a tap test can show how far the loose patch runs.