Multiple Cracks in Stucco New Construction

[Travis Anderson]

After reading a similar thread with a home that was older and seeing his pictures I wanted to post this picture of one side of the home. I used blue tape to show the cracks and again this is only one side. I have found this throughout the exterior of the home and its only 1 year old...

Yes I have heard Stucco cracks but the amount of cracks is my concern. I do not see other homes in the area with cracks built around the same time and with different contractors.

Please advise!


http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/attachment.php?attachmentid=33761&stc=1

[Gunnar Alquist]

Travis,

Have you contacted the contractor? That would be a good place to start. In California, contractors are liable for significant defects for ten years. I don't know what kind of construction defect laws Idaho has (or is it the Kingdom of Id?). If the contractor does nothing, it might be best to contact an attorney who specializes in construction defects. While I am not necessarily a fan of attorneys, they generally figure the best course of action and get the necessary forensic specialists.

As you probably already read in that older post, there are a number of possible reasons for extensive cracks. Improper flashing, poor paper coverage, improper nailing of the chicken-wire lath are probably the most likely, but the exact cause cannot be determined unless you get someone out there who can do a thorough analysis. You will need someone who can diagnose stucco problems. Destructive investigation may be necessary. A regular home inspection would just tell you that the stucco is cracked and defer to a stucco specialist.

[Jeff Zehnder]

Gunner has summed it well!

[Jerry Peck]

Very good timing - received this today: https://buildingscience.com/documents/building-science-insights/bsi-102-coming-stucco-pocalypse?utm_source=Building+Science+Corporation+ List&utm_campaign=45ae26308b-BSC+Newsletter+Issue+%23102&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_194890bc8c-45ae26308b-63934661

It is an excellent read, not about 'stucco cracking', but about the real stucco problems created over recent building method history and today.

[Garry Sorrells]

Jerry,. Excellent article. A must read.

[Travis Anderson]

Travis,

Have you contacted the contractor? That would be a good place to start. In California, contractors are liable for significant defects for ten years. I don't know what kind of construction defect laws Idaho has (or is it the Kingdom of Id?). If the contractor does nothing, it might be best to contact an attorney who specializes in construction defects. While I am not necessarily a fan of attorneys, they generally figure the best course of action and get the necessary forensic specialists.

As you probably already read in that older post, there are a number of possible reasons for extensive cracks. Improper flashing, poor paper coverage, improper nailing of the chicken-wire lath are probably the most likely, but the exact cause cannot be determined unless you get someone out there who can do a thorough analysis. You will need someone who can diagnose stucco problems. Destructive investigation may be necessary. A regular home inspection would just tell you that the stucco is cracked and defer to a stucco specialist.

Hi Gunnar, thank you for your response. Yes I did contact the Builder and their response is anything less than 1/8" they do not repair. I had the owner of Biltmore look at it as well and he stands by the remark, its hairline cracks and they will do nothing about it.
I did have an inspector come by to document the cracks and size of the cracks. The largest size only being around .0031. In his report he says although hairline cracks they are excessive.

I have been searching around for a different specialist working with stucco and haven't found one yet. I have been doing a lot of reading and checking out the pictures I took during the building process. I did find the plywood sheeting on the outside of the house did not have the required 1/8" gap in-between each sheet.
I also have some more pictures that I took and made a black line near each crack on some more walls. http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/attachment.php?attachmentid=33781&stc=1http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/attachment.php?attachmentid=33782&stc=1
Can someone please tell me this is not normal to have this many cracks?
Then I can feel better about moving forward with further investigations.
Thank you,
Travis Anderson
Eagle, Idaho