On 3/5/2011 3:36 PM, Robert Neville wrote:
wrote:

Painting stucco may be a bad idea in some climates, but certainly not in
Florida. There is no unpainted stucco in Florida, and residential
construction is almost entirely concrete block and stucco. Unpainted
stucco in Florida would take about five minutes to start growing
mildew/mold.

Unpainted stucco does not mean uncolored stucco and the structure underneath the
stucco (block, poured concrete, stud frame) makes no difference. While some
paints are mold resistant, using paint as a primary means of mold control is not
an accepted building practice anywhere that I'm aware of.

Special rules don't apply in Florida for stucco. Here's one link I found in
about 30 seconds for a stucco supplier:

It isn't a rule, but there is stuff about Florida that everyone seems to
know as soon as they move down .. trim trees away from roof line and
pick up dropped citrus or you'll have rats. Keep bread and cake in the
fridge or you'll have ants in the kitchen. Everyone gets termites,
sooner or later. Flora-Tam is the best St. Augustine grass. Builders
use concrete block/stucco, period. Parts of structures that don't get
much sun get a lot of mold, so semi-gloss paint will help shed whatever
mold grows on or eats.

http://www.floridastucco.com/product...bCategoryID=12

Advertising claims prove nothing, other than the well-known fact that
Florida is full of sheisters.

Note that they talk about a non-paintable color finish that is weather
resistant.

After the last near miss with hurricanes where I lived,
one report on damage to homes included the finding that older homes had
less damage than newer ones because they had more coats of paint -
wind-driven rain goes THROUGH concrete block.

I'm not surprised. Note that that same water resistance to water entering the
stucco from rain also applies to water leaving the stucco. That's the issue. You
want water to migrate out of the stucco or you will have mold and other
problems.

Well, water entering in 100 mph wind is rather different than normal
migration of moisture from masonry.

If external water (ie driven rain) is reaching the block, your house isn't built
properly. There should be a water barrier (like tarpaper, tyvek, but not poly
film) between the block and the stucco.

Not built properly? It didn't blow down and the roof stayed on. Proof
it was built well enough )

It is also recommended to
use water-based paint so that the masonry "breathes"; oil-based paint
blisters because it doesn't allow the moisture to exit. All masonry has
some moisture.

That's true, but has nothing to do with painting stucco.

Wellllll...if I use water-based paint on stucco, as do all of my friends
and neighbors, I guess it DOES have something to do with painting
stucco. I suspect that stick-built homes with lath and stucco have
different requirements.