A thunder wall… made of stucco!

Mur Stucco Résidentiel

Recently, a client, let’s call him Robert, called us for a problem with a stucco wall on his home. We went on-site in order to evaluate the problem and give a free estimate for the stucco wall reparation.

The Problem

The wall in question was part of his bedroom. Robert told us that each morning, between 5:30 and 7:30, he heard a noise coming from the wall. This was the first time that we heard about such a problem and we had to perform detective work to understand the cause.

The Inquiry

We listened to and even recorded the sound coming from the wall. It wasn’t only the sound of the wind: it was more similar to the sound of thunder. Thus, that noise could not be caused solely by a faulty caulking. By asking questions to Robert, we discovered this noise problem started recently, and that the problem was not there last winter.
He also explained us that a vinyl wall was there before, and when it was rebuilt, they only added the stucco in front of it without removing the vinyl. By examining closer, we observed that, when we pushed on the wall, it moved, which indicated there was a void inside the wall. That’s where it became clear.

The Problem’s Cause

The noise that woke up Robert each morning at sunrise was caused by expanded polystyrene granules inside the wall that moved with the temperature change. In may, the surface temperature of the exterior wall quickly went up until 30 degrees Celsius in the first few hours (stucco warms faster than wood), while inside the wall, the temperature stayed at approximately 5 degrees.

mur en stucco

The Problem’s Solution

The solution FinDecor suggested was to redo the entire caulking between the wall and the brick, and then to paint the exterior wall in semi-gloss white, which is the same color as the house, in order to lessen the temperature variation. This way, the wall won’t make any more noise and Robert won’t wake up with the sun again!

You Need A Painter For Your Stucco Walls?

If you are looking for an expert to restore, repaint, or create a new stucco wall, FinDecor experts can help you. We have the required experience to resolve a great variety of problems and accomplish various projects. No challenge is too big!

Dave Beaupre

Master painter

514-966-0966

[email protected]