Travis Jordan wrote:
C. Bailey wrote:

I just bought a house. The house is 3 years old. It has a stucco
exterior. For the last day, it has been raining with a strong wind


Masonry of all types is not impervious to water. Stucco should be
applied to a wall that has first been prepared by hanging a weather
barrier (felt or tyvek or equivalent) overlaid with wire lath before the
stucco is applied. Even so, the finished stucco is still slightly
permeable.

Paint and elastomeric coatings prevent penetration of water on masonry
surfaces. Many stucco homes are painted with latex acrylic paints, and
are therefore more waterproof. However, during last year's hurricane
season here in Florida it turned out that many newer homes with only one
or two layers of paint still leaked.

Some homes are built with synthetic stucco (dryvit) and moisture
penetration of this material is common.



The news about wind-driven rain permeating concrete block/stucco was
really interesting. That is what we have. Wind hard enough to drive
water through cb/stucco would also, probably, find all the little
wiggly, unfilled gaps and joints between members. Curious as to the
windspeed when OP's house got wet. A benefit of our hurricane shutters
is probably that we are a lot less likely to get water in closed
windows/patio sliders. Tide surges and flying roofs are enough to
handle ) We had a 5'x15' foot skylight take flight last year, but a
sturdy palm caught it )

Wind here can easily enter roof vents, soffit vents, etc. Our old condo
has lotsa paint, so that is a surprising benefit.