How to Repair a Cracked Stucco-Retaining Wall | Ask This Old House
Ask This Old House mason Mark McCullough travels to San Diego to repair a crack in a concrete retaining wall with a stucco finish.
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Time: 2-3 hours
Cost: $50
Skill Level: Moderate
Tools List for Repairing a Cracked Stucco Wall:
Shovel
Cold chisel
Hammer
Bucket
Margin trowel
Finishing trowel
Tuck pointer
Masonry brush
Shopping List:
Type S mortar
Steps:
1. Start by making sure the entire crack is fully exposed. This may require digging out the back side of the retaining wall with a shovel.
2. Once the full crack is exposed, take a chisel and a hammer and remove concrete on both sides of the crack until you have one continuous gap in the wall. This will make it easier to slide the mortar in. The gap should be about 1-2”.
3. Clean out the enlarged crack with a hose or a bucket of water.
4. Mix the mortar in a bucket with a margin trowel. Add a little more water than usual to allow the mortar to flow more easily into the crack.
5. Scoop up the mortar with the margin trowel and pour it slowly into the crack. Use the tuck pointer to push it firmly into place. It helps to hold a finishing trowel against the back side of the crack to keep it from pouring out. Leave about _” on the front side of the wall to leave room for the stucco pattern.
6. Allow the mortar to dry for about 1 hour.
7. Mix a new batch of mortar at the normal consistency.
8. Apply the new mortar to the front of the crack using the margin trowel until it is flush with the rest of the wall.
9. Allow the mortar to dry for about 5 minutes.
10. Using the tuck pointer, the masonry brush, and your fingers, carve out small chunks of the mortar to mimic the texture of the stucco pattern. Dampen the brush and expose some of the sand in the mortar. Do this until the texture of the patch matches the texture of the rest of the wall.
11. Allow the mortar to dry and cure for about 3-4 weeks.
12. Once the mortar has cured, apply a masonry stain to it until it matches the rest of the wall.
Resources:
Mark points out that if a retaining wall is cracked or damaged, the best way to remedy the situation is to identify what caused the crack in the first place and eliminate that cause. However, in many cases, that type of solution won’t be practical for a retaining wall.
To simply alleviate the symptoms, the materials required to repair a concrete retaining wall, including the trowel, masonry brush, and mortar are fairly straightforward and easy to locate at home centers. The masonry stain can also be found at home centers. If you bring a chip of the retaining wall with you to the home center, they should be able to closely color match the stain.
Expert assistance with this segment was provided by MJM Masonry (http://mjmmasonry.com/).
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How to Repair a Cracked Stucco-Retaining Wall | Ask This Old House
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I thought this channel didn’t upload
I love Watching your videos
man, stucco is terrible. looks like a nasty old sponge or a dry, cracked foot. gross.
2 weeks later your back to square one
FINALLY, A PICTURE OF THE COMPLETED WORK!!
Love this old house! I've actually just started my own channel, dedicated to teaching the average homeowner the in's and outs of interior and exterior painting. Would love some support/feedback so I know what to cover in the spring. So, let us know and we'll cover it. Don't forget to subscribe! The spring is going to be crazy with content!!! Thanks guy!
Mark: I'd paint the whole wall
Andrew: (paints over just the crack)
Me: Come on Andy!
Not worth all that, will crack again soon.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again but Mark couldn't wash Rogers boots, this guy has no personality at all.
I hope this guy realizes in about 5 yrs. His palm trees are going to collapse that wall.
Why not add something to reinforce the mortar? There's plenty of liquid and fibrous ad-ons to prevent cracking in stress areas.
It's gonna reopen
Was that an after shot!?!?! About time!!!
Super
I would put some nice slate over that or finish making it unnoticeable.
Its fixed temporarily but does not look right.
Hi
Not to shabby.
I giggled at the hose squeak at 4:25.
I've never seen anyone so "afraid" as this guy. He's really afraid of that crack xD jk. Nice job!!
Looks like a 3' wall? If so, that retaining wall is no longer structurally sound, unless it was built with rebar anchoring at least a foot below grade…that mortar does nothing to restore the strength except hide the potential danger. Even pinning the sidewall back with several anchors won't overcome the hydraulic pressure of tree roots.
Who the heck DIGS with a square shovel?
Hes never done this kind of work in his lifetime. Doesnt surprise me coming from California
Pointless if you don't resolve the cause.
That is clearly a dash finish with a knock down trowel. You dont stain stucco you mix a finish coat with the right color. Anyway that will never last just a bandaid
Repair didn’t match the original wall
Every time i fix the crack , it appears in another place !
So i think the Therapeutic treatment is cutting the trees .
Why they don't call Kirk Gioradano Plastering Inc to fix for free . I forgot Irish no work for free like This Old House
Nice
Is the wall level? Lol I doubt it. Let's fix the crooked wall! Great idea
Because he didnt fix the issie, a crack will reapear in a year or two if they are lucky not 5 ot 10. Some elastomeric caulking with a sponge or rag to stipple it would be far easier and stretch with it as it cracks further vs. A cement mix which will not stretch.
7:58 a little more Artist license and it would be perfect.
Tree: But I just want to live and grow, remove and capture harmful pathogens and carbon dioxide from the air, provide you with oxygen, cool down your property through shade and water evaporation, capture and slow rainwater which prevents the risk of flooding, provide a wind break, be home to many insects, birds and wildlife plus I look aesthetically pleasing.
Host: But you made a half inch crack in my concrete wall.
Could you not just use a tube of silicon flex caulk and paint it because it will stretch and give .
4:25 when your at work and clinch those cheeks
Super job. That should easily last a few months.
You know you're in So Cal when you hear these gems:
"Gnarly crack."
"Killer, let's get started."
"We're super stoked."
Mark man we have the same head, good luck to you and your head!
That crack is not going to go away completely. All he did was a stay of execution. Cut the tree down or excavate and buttress the wall
You use a round point shovel for digging not a square point come on.
i would have got rid of that palm instead and then fix the crack
Looks great but surely that’s going to open up again very quickly.
Nice, San Diego. I love San Diego it's a beautiful place. I would love to see more full episodes done in San Diego and Salt Lake City.
Remove the tree, Andrew. Dont be a lazy dumbass.
Omg this guy is clueless I cant believe this idiot is on tv
Stuck is not just a pattern no
Also drill long self tapping lags about 14-16" to help. Screw in towards the street with bolt/lag heads towards house while doing that so its comes out the sides… Or plus wrap with chicken wire around corner then re concrete or mort over it then repaint like new last 100% longer while roots push and grow. Also stuck Ooooo is not just a pattern.
Thanks for showing the final result!!
I do this stuff for a fake living and I would have used play dough instead of whatever they used. My advise is the best.
Vamos amigo ths shiry job..
This is NOT a “stucco crack”. The retaining wall has lost its integrity. I’m guessing the crack reappeared shortly after the video was posted.
Dude is a box of rock if he can't fix that crack himself. Maybe that's why TOH mostly has the women assist, we can't make comments about a dude that can't get a pillow case off a pillow.
The repair stuck out like bollocks on a dog!
Why don't you just make up wider wall so the Palm Tree won't break all the wall
I get that this is a "do it yourself" type repair for homeowners but it's not going to last. It broke because there was no reinforcement and will continue to move outward, especially with that tree there, until failure or is too far gone to repair. Filling the crack will not strengthen anything because the movement it outward, not inward. Besides the tree removed, what it really needs is to be drilled with a rotary hammer in both directions and have structural epoxy and rebar inserted in the drill holes to keep it from moving. Otherwise that crack will open up again and you'll have the same issue year after year.
Need to put this on my co-workers butt crack
He should have used a heavy nap roller
I feel that they should drive several screws on to the wall to hold them together
that patch looks like crap lol
"Crack is whack "- true story
If he works his missus like he uses a hammer, she’ll be one un happy woman
Did he just said narly!!!
This dude needs an upgrade.
Almost as bad as the crack tbh
They could of just took the wall down and do a bigger one or at least where the roots wont crack it
Idk. That crack looks kinda CGI to me
Not sure how much it will open up and I thought the texture was pretty weak.
I'm just a simple handyman in only have 25 or 30 jobs under my belt with stucco and concrete pass work but I have learned a ton not only from This Old House but from Kirk Giordano on YouTube his family and business…
Can I use cob to fix stucco?
Great video.
Thats actually fantastic, really great 🙂
Lol pretty obvious where the patch was.
Excellent video.
However, I would do the project a bit differently. As a home owner in San Diego with exterior stucco wall, I would use real stucco materials (Omega Base 2 or Base 10 with right color match or La Habre Base 100 or 200 with right color match, cost less than $20 for a bag of 90 LB of Base and 1 Lb color match).
Fill the gap as shown in the video with with real stucco materials AND no PAINTING.
You do not paint a stucco wall ever. The main reason for having a stucco wall is that it breathes and let the water/moisture out through the pores. Once you paint the stucco wall, the breathing advantage is no longer exists and it is prune to peeling and periodic need for repainting. A good stucco structure should last 30, 50, or 80 years. If a cracks develops, fix it with real stucco material, not with synthetic fillers or mortar mix that can not be color matched.