Stucco and masonry painting in Tacoma, breathable and crack-sealed

Stucco, brick and concrete block all absorb some water. In the Tacoma wet season, walls take on moisture from rain, and that moisture has to escape as vapor when the weather dries. A breathable coating lets vapor pass through while shedding liquid water. If the paint is too tight, like an oil-based enamel or the wrong sealer, the vapor gets trapped under it. That trapped moisture is what causes bubbling, peeling and, over time, damage to the masonry itself.

We choose coatings based on the wall and its exposure. Quality 100% acrylic masonry paints are breathable and work well on most stucco and block in our climate. Elastomeric coatings are much thicker and flexible, so they bridge hairline cracks and stretch as the wall moves. They are great on cracked stucco, but they are less breathable, so we only use them on walls that are dry and drain well. For painted brick, we use a breathable masonry paint. Old unpainted brick is often best left unpainted, and we will tell you so.

Most stucco cracks are hairline cracks from settling and seasonal movement. We clean them out and fill them with a flexible, paintable masonry patch so they can move a little without reopening. Wider cracks may need to be cut open slightly and filled in layers. Where stucco has chipped or broken away, we patch with a stucco repair mix and texture it to blend with the wall. Patches need to cure before priming, since fresh cement products are very alkaline and can ruin paint applied too soon.

Efflorescence is a sign of water moving through the wall. We clean it off with a stiff brush and a masonry cleaner, but we also look for its source, which is often a leaking gutter, a missing downspout extension or soil piled against the wall. If the water problem is not fixed, the salts will keep coming back and push the new paint off. Once the wall is clean and dry, we apply an alkali-resistant masonry primer over patches and bare areas before the finish coats. Our caulking and sealing work covers joints where stucco meets trim and windows.

Stucco is less common in Tacoma than in drier places, but you see it on many 1920s Spanish and Tudor revival homes in North Tacoma and around Wright Park, on some mid-century homes, and on newer homes and townhouses in places like Gig Harbor and University Place. Older stucco often has layers of past paint and patches in slightly different textures. Concrete block shows up on foundations, garages, retaining walls and small commercial buildings throughout South Tacoma and Fife.

Brick chimneys and brick-faced homes are common in older parts of Tacoma, including the Stadium District and Old Town. Many were painted decades ago, and the paint is now peeling. Removing old paint from brick is possible but can be costly and hard on soft brick. Usually the better choice is to clean, repair and repaint with a breathable masonry paint. Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint on masonry too, so scraping uses lead-safe methods. For the wood parts of the house, our exterior painting service covers the rest.