I finally fixed my south-facing stucco cracking problem
About 4 months back I posted here asking about hairline cracks that kept coming back on my stucco wall that faces the sun all afternoon. A guy named Dave from Aurora told me to stop patching and start thinking about thermal expansion. I figured he was just some internet know-it-all. Then I measured the wall temp on a 95 degree day and it hit 140 on the surface. That changes everything. I tore out the old patch job, added proper expansion joints every 12 feet, and used a flexible sealant rated for high movement. Three months later, no cracks. The original quote to redo the whole wall was $3,800, and I spent about $180 at Home Depot. Has anyone else dealt with stucco issues in this climate or is it just me?