WHAT is this, and WHY do you want it under your STUCCO?

If you think about stucco, its a difficult assembly.. Its basically a sidewalk on the side of your house.. Stucco gets a bad rap because of all of the failures it can cause - Matt shows how we can make the stucco last the life of the house without problems!

Follow along with Luke -

Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Polywall, Huber, Dorken Delta, Prosoco, Rockwool & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[danielparsons]

Whoa! As a 25 year vet in Missouri, installing both Stucco wire lath and Efis (Exterior, insulation, finishing, system.) foam.
This product looks great! No more wire? No more paper!?
This looks amazing.
I'm still an Efis fan though.
Gold coat with mesh over zip system, then 1 1/2 foam over exterior. Sanded, chalklined, and groves cut.
The base coat is much stronger along with better R value.
The weather expansion is always breathing. Not many cracks and if so, very small with proper insulation. In Mo, weather here is much different in terms of expansion. We also use 5/8ths durarock sheets. 4x8. Very strong and great for golf courses where balls are hitting homes😂.
Great content. Loved seeing the boys using a "Go Devil" or "Cheater" on the wall. Great way to put mud on the wall vs a hawk and trowel.

[reedtower]

Awesome video .... Love new products and new methods. Thanks for sharing Matt.

[douglasmontgomery]

Matt, love your channel and appreciate what you bring to the masses. After having had build three houses (Maryland, Tennessee and SW Florida)... I can confirm MOST builders (and their contractors) use the most economical and QUICKEST way to build homes. I was so shocked on your OSB vs ZIP the minimal cost difference (labor is about the same..so builders should not be asking uch more than the approximate upgrade for the materials).

I did a search on your channel for a product that I used to insulate my garage and was considering for my next SW Florida CMU 1500 sq ft (under air) home... InsoFast. I did not see any review on it. My thought was to use it in lieu of a ICF home. It has plastic studs 16 on center (plastic is a thermal break, no conductance and cuts framing cost out since studs are integral).

Also, I remember seeing a Oak Ridge Laboratory (I think) test using a spray bedliner material (Rhino) on CMU block for hurricane protection. I imagine it would also be a great vapor/air barrier. Mythbusters even did an episode where it was "bomb/blast proof :0 ). What's your thoughts on spraying the outside of a CMU home with bedliner and then applying a 2 inch InsoFast panel on outside and maybe 1 inch insofast in on inside of new home?

Sealed attic with spray foam and metal roof.

Thanks !

[petrirantavalli]

that looks suspiciously like a foundation mat (mandatory here in the nordics) and ye olde stucco mesh just glued together.

[acobo]

Great video Matt, thanks. Using stucco as cladding is great as long as you follow best installation instructions for any application. Is no different with any other product you install on your house. Lack of education, cutting corners or laziness is what creates problems. BTW, I didn't see reinforcing of the corners on windows and doors, or maybe my eyes miss it.

[TakoyakiStore]

I would love to see an episode on roof venting in high velocity hurricane zones, namely O'Hagan roof vents.

I loved this episode btw. My work encountered a bad stucco job a few years back.

[lbwade]

We just need more builders like you!! I do remodels and find water dmg in 99% of the jobs

[harding]

Builders beware, Im watching Matt and learning what is really needed in a great house build.

[ZimorKilled]

Hey Matt, I am learning allot about building, keep up the great series. As for the Delta "dimples" in this video, I understand the airing between cement and ZIP, but, dont you think the space will harbor insects, etc?

[Krunch]

Where I live most stucco homes are painted so 99.9% of the water never gets to the stucco. The double D paper creates a drainage plane when the top layer swells when the wet stucco is applied and then shrinks during the drying period creating a gap between the layers. An extra layer of 15lb felt over the plywood sheathing creates a durable assembly. Many of the problems in modern construction are due to the failure of OSB and Tyvek when designers want reservoir cladding. Just say no!

[sorrmalify]

Bomber content Matt!
Would you use this delta dry dimpled barrier on an ICF house?
Straight onto the foam?
Wrap foam first then delta dry?
*making plans to retire on Texas coast.

[virgil]

Great video, no idea if our last house we had for 11 years that is now 20 years old, or our current one has this stuff, and we had stucco on both. if not, not much I can do. So once again, while I love this channel, it also shows any house I own will probably fall apart

[prescottkemler]

Great video Matt, thanks... Question, anyone ever use Durrock with a drainable type of Tyvek under as a base system, with the drainage mesh, before the final coats?

[kendog]

Is there an equivalent version for more traditional, layered siding, such as Hardi-Board, actual wood siding, or maybe even aluminum siding?

[bdlc]

if you use a zipp system system and do stucco or some thing like James Hardie siding which would be a better option for longevity Provided that the best practice is done on each?

[pfhvqws]

I like studying about anything related to stucco. So I have two questions. 1) If you are using the Roxul board over the shear wall siding (be it plywood or other type) how do you get this new product attached to it? Roadenhouse washers? 2) Is this product alkaline resistant enough so that it could be used with ecologically responsible lime plasters? I ask because I currently use expanded metal lath made from stainless which is quite expensive. The plaster membrane ends up being at least 2 inches thick with four coats. Thanks.

[RedwoodGeorge]

This video gave me PTSD - my house was built in 1947 and besides the exterior, they used stucco on the *interior* walls of the house. I've had two different tradesmen over the years say "I've never seen a wall like this before" - much like the Ghostbusters joke "They don't build 'em like this anymore" "They *never* built them like this!" :-)


The method they used on the interior walls was to put up a tar paper against the studs - essentially a 1/4 inch thick asphalt with a chicken wire mesh inside. Then they put up more chicken wire mesh and used that as the lathe to hold the stucco together. This does build some very solid walls and they have a nice hand-plastered feel, though nothing is straight or square in our house.


There are two downsides: Anytime you try to cut into the wall you're cutting through two layers of wire and they'll dull up a zip tool bit in a hurry. If you use a Sawzall, not only will it wear down the teeth but if the wire catches in a saw tooth it'll vibrate the entire wall, loosening or even cracking the stucco. The other issue is a modern-day problem: the layers of wire mesh in the walls eat up radio waves like nobody's business. I needed to put up four Wi-Fi hotspots to get decent coverage in a 1500 square foot house and many mobile phones lose connections once you step inside. Just imagine: every interior wall has four layers of wire mesh (two on each side) and each room is essentially a Faraday Cage just soaking up any radio signals...

[Alex-ztec]

Matt,

Great video. Any concerns using an outboard vapor barrier like this in colder climates? The air gap looks small(ish) and provisions for ventilation ("ventilated rainscreen") at the base of wall, sill, head and top of wall look limited. I would be concerned about the drying capacity of this wall. Would a vapor permeable/vapor open drainage plane/lath combo make more sense (again, for a colder climate)?

[qdp]

Phoenix Az- Yer channel is top notch! I have a ‘70s block home, flat roof and old ugly rough stucco. Do have a “Best practice” video/advice on converting to sand smooth stucco finish?

[JohnSmith-sepf]

I see the Zip wall in the back that has the fluid applied sealer on the seams and nail holes. Now when you apply the Delta Dry and Lath they are putting many more nail holes and staples into the Zip wall. Doesn't this defeat all the care that was taken to seal the holes in the first place?