New stucco and re-stucco
New Stucco, Re-Stucco and Siding to Stucco Conversion
This page covers three different starting points that all end at the same material. A wall that already has stucco on it and is getting a full new coat system instead of a patch. A wall that has wood or vinyl siding now and is coming off in favor of stucco. And a wall that has no exterior finish on it yet, because it is new construction or an addition someone else already framed. Jose Dominguez ran stucco crews for twelve years as a plasterer with Local 300, and has run them here since 2018, and the same coat by coat standard applies whichever of the three describes your project.
Free estimates. Two year warranty against water intrusion on the exterior stucco assembly, material and labor. CSLB #1044105, Class B and C-35. Se habla español.
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- CSLB #1044105, Class B and C-35
- Two year warranty against water intrusion
What re-stucco and resurfacing means
Resurfacing is going over stucco that is already on the wall with a new coat system, most often two or three coats, rather than tearing the old material off first.
Going over old stucco with two or three coats of material in order to change the look of the stucco with something more modern... and at the same time, we can add protection to prevent cracking.
Re-stucco, resurfacing, rendering
Re-stucco, resurfacing and rendering are three words for one process, and whichever one brought you here, this is the page. The result is a wall that looks current again and picks up a fresh layer of crack resistance, without the cost or the mess of stripping a sound wall down to the studs first.
Resurfacing versus a full re-stucco
The difference is what happens to the old material before the new coats go on. Both routes can end at the same finish.
Resurfacing keeps the existing stucco in place and builds new coats on top of it. That only works when the wall underneath is sound: no bulging, no hollow sections, no water damage sitting behind it. If your stucco has active cracking or a section that has already failed, that is repair territory first, and our stucco repair page covers patching a section back to sound material. Once a wall is patched and stable, resurfacing the whole elevation is often the next step, so the repair does not stay visible as its own patch against the rest of the wall.
A full re-stucco removes the old material down to the lath or the sheathing and rebuilds the coat system from there. That is the right call when too much of the existing wall has failed to make resurfacing worth it, or when the wall is coming off for another reason, most often a siding conversion.
New construction stucco and stucco on an addition
New stucco goes on bare framing that has no exterior finish yet: a newly built home, or an addition to an existing one. On bare framing, that build up runs through a scratch coat, a brown coat and a finish coat, a three coat system specific to new construction. That is a different starting point and a different coat count than resurfacing, covered above, which uses two or three coats over stucco that is already there.
We stucco an addition once the framing is finished. We do not build the addition. Where a general contractor or a framing crew has already built the structure, our scope starts at the exterior finish.
Converting siding to stucco
This is the project that most often starts with an older home. In Jose's example, a house from the sixties with damaged stucco across three quarters of the elevation and wood siding on the front. In that situation the homeowner is not always asking for a stucco repair. Often the ask is to get rid of the siding section entirely and finish the whole house in stucco instead.
Switching a wall from siding to stucco is a structural change, not a finish change.
Because it's not original from the house, the siding portion, we have to go through a permit with the city, and many times because we're switching from original wood siding to a stucco, and we're adding extra weight to the framing. So the city requires many times to add hold-downs or more extra anchoring and shear walls... adding plywood to it, CDX, in order to reinforce the structure.
What comes with a conversion
Jose estimates an engineer gets involved roughly half the time on this kind of conversion, and that it varies city by city. The full explanation of what hold-downs and shear walls actually are, in his own words, lives on our multifamily exterior renovation page, where the same upgrade is required on nearly every building rather than about half the time.
Once the siding comes off, whatever was hiding behind it becomes visible: old water damage, dry rot, sometimes termite damage. If the siding is coming off and going back on as siding, that is siding repair and replacement. This page is for walls that end up in stucco. And if what turns up behind the siding is rot or termite damage, that repair runs under dry rot and wood repair and is scoped and approved before the new coat system starts.
Have a section of siding you want gone for good, not just repaired? That one needs a walkthrough, because whether an engineer gets involved depends on what the framing underneath can carry.
Finish options
Smooth, sandy, Santa Barbara, and medium and base acrylic are the finishes that come up most. Which one suits your house depends on the elevation and what you are matching, and that conversation happens at the walkthrough against your actual wall.
Stone veneer sometimes goes on as an accent alongside a stucco job rather than in place of it, most often at a base course or a feature wall.
[...] They did a complete resurfacing/restucco job on my house which included stone veneer installation. From start to finish they were a pleasure to work with and at a very reasonable prices. Will definitely reach out to them again for any future projects.
Cure time
Each coat has to set before the next one goes on. Your written proposal carries the schedule for your job.
Permits for new stucco and re-stucco work
Requirements vary by city and by scope. We confirm with your local building department before we quote.
In practice: a siding to stucco conversion is one of the more likely projects on this site to need a permit, because of the added weight on the framing. New construction stucco follows whatever permit the build itself is already under. Resurfacing over sound existing stucco, with no structural change involved, is the scenario least likely to trigger the same review, though the city makes that call, not a general rule.
How an estimate works
Photos help for a first look, but every project on this page benefits from an in person walkthrough before anything gets priced, because the scope depends on what is happening underneath the surface, not just what the wall looks like today. For a siding conversion that walkthrough is also where we talk through whether your city is likely to call for an engineer.
From there it follows the same path as any project here: a written proposal, a deposit, and if a permit applies, that process starts before a start date gets locked in. See the full five step process.
The warranty on new stucco and re-stucco
The exterior stucco assembly we install, whether that is a full re-stucco, a resurfacing job, a new construction stucco system, or the new stucco wall that replaces a section of siding, carries a two year warranty against water intrusion, covering material and labor. Full terms are in writing before work starts.
Where we do this work
New stucco, re-stucco, resurfacing and siding to stucco conversions run on homes and additions across Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, concentrated in the South Bay and the Peninsula. See the full list of cities. On multifamily buildings, siding to stucco conversion is a core part of what we do. See multifamily exterior renovation.
A re-stucco is often one part of a larger project, up to a whole exterior refresh, demo to paint.
Questions
Questions people ask about this work
If yours is not here, ask us on the phone. It is a better use of your time than guessing.
If resurfacing gets ruled out, does the whole house have to come off?
Not necessarily. Resurfacing gets ruled out elevation by elevation, not house by house, so one failed wall can come off for a full re-stucco while sound elevations still take a new coat system over what is there.
How does the permit process affect the schedule on a siding to stucco conversion?
A permit adds review time before the physical work starts, not during it. Once plans go in, how long the city takes to review them is out of our hands, and if an engineer is required, that report has to be finished before the permit can move forward. That review period is what stretches a conversion's overall timeline beyond a similar size repair.
When an engineer is required for a conversion, what does the report cover and who pays for it?
The engineer's report documents what the framing needs to safely carry the added weight of stucco on that wall, and that is what the city reviews before it will issue the permit. That cost is part of the total in your written proposal, not billed separately once the job is underway, and you see it before anything is approved.
Does the rainy season change when a re-stucco can start?
It changes the schedule more than the scope. Coats need dry conditions to set, so winter work runs between storms, and the written proposal carries the schedule we expect for your job, not a generic one.
If I am resurfacing part of the house or adding onto it, does the new finish need to match what is already there?
If the goal is a uniform look across the house, yes, and that means matching the existing texture as closely as the finish options allow, whether that is a smooth surface, a sandy texture, or one of the specialty options. If the whole elevation is coming off for a fresh finish, or you are deliberately changing the look, matching an old finish is not the goal. Either way that gets decided against your actual wall at the walkthrough.
What happens if the new stucco assembly develops a problem inside the two years?
If water intrusion shows up in an assembly we installed within the two year period, we treat it as a warranty claim. We come out, look at what is happening, and if it traces back to our work, we fix it as part of the warranty. The full terms are in writing on our warranty page.
Related work
Other things we do on the same house
Free estimate
Old stucco, old siding, or bare framing. Tell us what you are starting from.
Whether it is a full re-stucco, a resurfacing job over stucco with good bones left, a siding to stucco conversion, or new stucco on an addition someone else framed, the walkthrough sorts out which of the three starting points actually describes your project before anything gets priced.
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Se habla español.
CSLB #1044105, Class B and C-35. Two year warranty against water intrusion on exterior stucco.