Stucco: Diagnosing, Deconstructing, and Fixing Florida Facades

tucco doesn't fail quietly. In Florida, it fails spectacularly - and this field manual shows you exactly why.Stucco: Diagnosing, Deconstructing, and Fixing Florida Facades is a no-nonsense, field-tested guide for contractors, estimators, and forensic building-envelope inspectors who are tired of cheap caulk-and-paint fixes that fall apart in six months. Written with a forensic investigator's eye and a healthy sense of humor about the industry's worst habits, this manual walks you through the real physics of why Florida stucco cracks, traps water, and rots framing from the inside out - and gives you the code-backed protocols to diagnose, document, and repair it correctly.Inside, you'll learn to: - Read cracks like a diagnostic chart - from cosmetic crazing to structural CMU blowouts- Run acoustic sounding surveys and destructive test cuts like a forensic pro- Spot the accessory failures (weep screeds, expansion joints, J-beads, kick-out flashing) that quietly destroy walls- Execute a proper stepped-edge, three-coat repair that actually lasts- Write bulletproof, ASTM-referenced scopes of work that protect your margin and your license- Build a defensible photo and documentation trail for insurance claims and litigationComplete with original diagrams, quick-reference tables, a field checklist, and a glossary of ASTM standards, this is the manual you keep on the clipboard - not the shelf.