Stucco Cracking Over Wood Framing.

Above is a photograph of somewhat random stucco cracking and a photograph of the expanded metal lath under the stucco. Stucco over wood framing is not adhered to the home like stucco over concrete block.

The second floor stucco moves due to temperature changes. If the metal lath and wood framing under the lath allowed the stucco to move evenly/freely, there would be much less cracking.

You can see that the metal lath has an uneven surface. The OSB joints below the lath can be uneven. Staples that fasten the lath to the OSB can be raised a little. The seams at the lath twist out a bit. The bottom line is there are lots of unevenness in the metal lath and framing that can keep the stucco from moving freely/evenly and thus causing stucco cracking.

In addition windows and roof lines can cause weak places in the plain of the stucco.

Once the paint can no longer cover the stucco cracks, wet dry cycles cause the cracks to become wider. Unattended cracks can let enough moisture into the metal lath to damage the lath.

There are other causes of stucco cracking. We have focused on, by far, the most common problems.

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