We go in at the base and around the window openings, install flashing that sends water back out, and tie the water-resistive barrier into it. Staining along the bottom of a wall, white powder on the surface, or a window frame that stays damp after rain usually points here. We do this work in Santa Fe.
Where the signs show up
The trouble nearly always shows at one of two places: the base of the wall or around a window. Look for dark staining running down from a window or the trim, paint bubbling or peeling in a band along the bottom of the wall, or a baseboard inside that feels soft. By then water has been getting in for a while. Patching the surface won't stop it, because the water is entering at the flashing, not at the stucco.
Often paired with stucco lath replacement. Need stucco repair in Santa Fe? Start on our home page.
Related reading: What Stucco Repair Costs and What Moves the Price · Insurance Claims for Stucco Repair: What to Document
What has failed behind the wall
At the base of a wood-framed wall, a weep screed is supposed to let water that gets behind the stucco drain out at the bottom. If the screed is missing, damaged or blocked, or the water-resistive barrier doesn't lap over its flange, the water sits there instead. At a window, the sill-pan flashing over the rough sill and the head flashing above the opening are what keep water out of the frame. Sometimes that flashing was never installed correctly. Sometimes it was fine once and has since degraded or pulled away. Either way the water reaches the sheathing and framing, and that is what turns a stain into a structural repair.
How we find the failure point
We open the wall at the base and at the window openings, because you can't see these details from outside. At the base we check whether the weep screed is still there and clear, and whether the barrier is continuous and lapped over the screed flange. At each window we check for sill-pan flashing and head flashing, and whether they are tied into the barrier below and at the sides. What we find there tells us how much of the wall has to come off.
What we install
At a wood-framed wall base, we put self-adhered flashing in behind the new weep screed, then bring the water-resistive barrier down so it overlaps the screed flange. At a window opening, we lay flexible sill-pan flashing membrane over the rough sill, turn it up the jambs, and lap it over the barrier below. Above the window we install metal head flashing or a drip cap to shed water away from the opening. Each layer laps over the one below it, so water is always directed outward. While the wall is open, we correct whatever else is damaged behind the stucco.
Cost and scheduling
Weep-screed replacement with a lower-wall rebuild runs $1,350 to $7,250 per wall. The spread reflects how much of the lower wall has to be opened and rebuilt. We can give you a typical range on the call, and we confirm the exact number once we've seen the wall opened up and know what's behind it. Santa Fe has real winters and hot summers, and the wall is exposed while we work, so we plan the job around the weather. We'll give you a schedule once we know the scope.
What the Job Includes
In practice, parts of it look like this:
- Reinstall lath and stucco around the repaired detail without covering the drainage outlet.
- Before closing the repair, verify that the flashing and water-resistive barrier form a continuous outward-draining path and that weep-screed openings remain clear.
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