Learned the hard way: stick with brick ties for stucco, not wire mesh in ABQ

I used welded wire mesh on my south wall instead of proper brick ties like the old-timers said, and after two monsoons the stucco started cracking right above the lintel on my garage window near Juan Tabo. Replacing that section cost me about $400 last fall. Now I'm re-doing the whole side with galvanized ties and wondering if anyone else has seen mesh fail with our adobe soil here.

2 comments

2 Comments

parkerk5626d ago

stucco started cracking right above the lintel" - exactly what I saw on a buddy's house off Eubank. Heard from a contractor that wire mesh just can't handle the freeze-thaw we get here with the clay soil.

emma7226d ago

Has your buddy checked behind the stucco for any water damage yet? I had a friend over in the North Valley who noticed the same thing above his garage door, and when he pulled the stucco off, the wire mesh was completely rusted through in spots. The contractor he hired said the clay soil here shifts so much that the freeze-thaw cycle just works the moisture in behind the mesh, and then it cracks the stucco from the inside out. He ended up having to replace the whole section with a new mesh and a flexible sealant to stop it from happening again. It's a pain, but apparently it's super common in older homes around here.