Stucco Repair in Minneapolis, MN

Stucco repair in Minneapolis starts with one question: how old is the wall? This is where we are based, and and much of the housing here is old. According to Wikipedia's summary of census data, 43.7% of housing units in the city were built in 1939 or earlier. A large share of the stucco we see on Minneapolis streets is original to that era, and it behaves differently from the cement stucco put on suburban houses fifty years later. Getting the repair right means reading the wall before mixing anything.

What the prewar stucco is made of

The National Park Service's Preservation Brief 22 explains that stucco was tied to bungalows, four-square houses, Tudor Revival and Mediterranean-inspired homes from about 1890 into the 1930s and 1940s. Before the late 1800s stucco was mainly lime-based; portland cement became common after about 1900, but some plasterers kept using lime. That matters because, as the same brief puts it, portland cement is rigid and incompatible with early, softer lime-based stucco. The two expand and contract at different rates, so a hard patch set into a soft wall often cracks around its edges and lets water in. On an older Minneapolis house we check the binder first, then choose a mix that moves the way the original wall moves.

The winter test every wall takes

The January daily mean at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport is 16.2°F, with a mean daily low of 8.8°F (1991-2020 normals), and the city averages about 51.2 inches of snow a year. Snow piled against a foundation melts on a sunny afternoon, soaks into any open crack, and freezes again at night. Over a few winters a hairline crack turns into a loose section. That is why we would rather seal a small crack in the fall than rebuild a panel in the spring.

How we approach a Minneapolis repair

• Look before we cut. We walk the whole exterior, note cracks, stains, bulges, loose trim and failed caulk, and map where water is likely getting behind the stucco.
• Match the old mix. For prewar walls we identify whether the stucco is lime-rich or portland-based and use a compatible mix rather than a hard modern patch.
• Match the finish. Preservation Brief 22 notes that the finish coat should be worked to match the texture of the original. Heavily textured walls hide patches well; smooth walls usually need a color coat or paint to blend.
• Follow the scoring. On scored stucco we square off a patch along the existing lines so it reads as part of the wall.
• Work in the right weather. The NPS guidance is to avoid applying stucco below 40°F, and preferably warmer, or when frost is likely. We schedule exterior stucco work for the months that allow it.

Newer Minneapolis homes and moisture testing

Not every Minneapolis stucco house is a century old. Infill homes and remodels from the late 1980s and 1990s were built in the same period that produced Minnesota's well-documented stucco failures. The City of Woodbury's position paper on stucco in new residential construction found that 451 of the 670 stucco homes in that city (67%) had failed and been repaired by February 2011, on average 9.9 years after construction. The main causes were window leaks, missing kick-out flashing, improper deck flashing and grade above the wood framing. If you own, are buying or are selling a Minneapolis stucco house from that era, invasive moisture testing is the way to find hidden damage before it spreads.

Historic districts and city permits

Minneapolis has more than 150 individual properties designated as local landmarks and twelve locally designated historic districts, according to the city's guide to heritage preservation. In those areas, limited masonry and siding repair is treated as a minor alteration reviewed by city staff, while larger changes can go to the Heritage Preservation Commission for a public hearing. Outside the districts, the city's building bulletin on windows and doors states that building permits are required when alterations are made to exterior walls. We confirm with the city what applies to your job before work starts, and if a permit is needed we build that time into the schedule.

Services we offer across the city

• Stucco crack repair and patching on houses, garages and porches
• Invasive moisture testing and remediation of wet sheathing
• Recoating and new color coats to refresh faded or patched walls
• EIFS repair where synthetic stucco is present
• Historic stucco restoration with lime-compatible mixes
• Flashing and sealant corrections at windows, decks and roof lines

Getting a written estimate

Call (612) 482-6637 or send photos of the area that worries you. We look at the wall in person, explain what we think is causing the damage and give you a free written estimate that lists the repair method, the areas covered and anything that needs a closer look.

Get a Free Estimate