Reader Undecided Between Restuccoing, Texture Coating

Question: We own a small tract house in West Los Angeles that is probably about 35 years old. We have had it painted twice in the last 10 years and realized that it needs more than paint. Which is preferable, restuccoing or texture coating? We have had estimates for both; there is little difference in cost, so that is not a factor.

Answer: One contractor I respect voted for restuccoing, especially if there is severe stucco damage. He said that texture coating is fine if properly done by a reputable, licensed contractor, but stood firm in his belief that restuccoing should be used on a house with that many years on it.

Go back to the contractors and recheck their qualifications and warranties. It’s impossible to avoid all cracking--given the nature of stucco in an area where the ground is always moving in one form or another--but you should get some kind of assurance that the material will stay on your walls.

Q: About 3 1/2 years ago we remodeled our house by adding a second story. The contractor installed aluminum-framed windows in our new addition. The window sills are plastered right to the aluminum frames and stuccoed on the outside. In the last two years, a white powdery dust has bubbled up out of the plaster sill right through the paint near the bathroom window. The powder is not damp to the touch. This same eruption is beginning to occur in the study windows. There does not appear to be any erosion of the stucco on the exterior of the house. What’s the problem and how can we prevent it?

A: You live in Santa Monica, where corrosion is a problem. That’s the downside of that fresh salt air! What you have in that white powder, according to window doctor Allen L. Lowith of Lowith Metal Windows, 10905 Peach Grove Ave., North Hollywood, is aluminum oxide. It’s to aluminum what rust is to steel. There is no way to eliminate the problem, but a liberal application of silicone spray on the frames from time to time will minimize it.

Lowith speaks from years of experience dealing with coastal and Westside houses and apartment buildings.