Repair & Restoration

Stucco Repair & Restoration Across Chicagoland

Cracks, staining, soft spots and tired color — diagnosed first, then fixed properly.

Free estimatesNo obligation
Stucco & EIFSWe install both systems
Based in Northlake, ILLocally owned
Serving ChicagolandWest suburbs to the North Shore

The work

Most stucco repair calls are really water calls. A crack on its own is cosmetic; a crack with a stain running out of it, a hollow sound when you tap the wall, or paint lifting below a window means water is getting behind the finish and has been for a while. Chicago's freeze-thaw cycle makes that worse every winter, because water that gets in during a thaw expands when it refreezes and opens the crack a little further each time.

So we start by working out why the wall failed, not by covering it. That usually means checking the flashing above the damage, the sealant at the windows, the kickout where the roof meets the wall, and whether the ground or a downspout is throwing water at the base. Patching a wall without fixing the source buys you a season, and then you are back where you started.

Our process

How we approach a repair

Each stage is written down in the estimate, so you know what is happening on your house and roughly when.

Free assessment
We look at the damaged area and, more importantly, at everything above it. You get a straight explanation of what we think is happening and what it will take to fix.
Find and fix the source
Flashing, kickout diverters, window sealant, grade and drainage. If water has a way in, the repair starts there.
Cut back to sound material
Damaged stucco comes off until we reach material that is solid and well bonded. Compromised lath, paper or sheathing comes out too — covering rot is not a repair.
Rebuild the assembly
New weather barrier lapped correctly into the existing, new lath tied in, then scratch and brown coats built back to the original plane.
Match the texture
This is the part that decides whether a repair is invisible. We work up samples against your existing wall and blend the patch into a natural break — a corner, a reveal, a change of plane — rather than stopping in the middle of a field.
Re-coat or color refresh
Where the whole elevation has aged unevenly, a full finish re-coat over the repaired wall is often the better answer than a patch that will always be visible.

Why us for this

What you get from a proper restoration

An honest diagnosis
If the wall needs a crack sealed, we will tell you that. If it needs a section opened up, we will tell you that too, and show you why.
Repairs that blend
Texture matching on an existing wall is a craft skill. We sample until it is right rather than hoping paint will hide the difference.
The detail fixed, not hidden
Flashing and sealant work is included in the thinking, not treated as somebody else's trade.
Both systems
We repair traditional cement stucco and EIFS. They fail differently and they are repaired differently, and we work out which one you have before we quote.

Detail

Signs worth getting looked at

None of these mean disaster on their own, but all of them are worth a free look before the next freeze.

Stair-step or diagonal cracks from window corners: Normally movement stress. Common, usually repairable, and worth sealing before water finds it.
Dark staining or streaking below an opening: Water is running behind the finish and coming back out. This one does not get better on its own.
A hollow sound when you tap: The finish has debonded from what is behind it. The affected area needs to come off.
Soft, crumbling material at the base of a wall: Usually splash-back, a missing weep screed, or grade sitting too high against the wall.
Bulging, or a wall that is no longer flat: Something behind the finish has moved or failed. Worth opening up early rather than late.

Questions

Things people ask us about this

Can you match my existing stucco texture?

In most cases, yes — texture matching is a sampling exercise and we do it against your actual wall in daylight. Where an elevation has aged a long way from its original color, a full finish re-coat of that elevation gives a better result than a patch.

Do I need to repair hairline cracks?

Hairline cracking with no staining is usually cosmetic and can wait. Cracks that are growing, that stain, or that sit under a flashing detail are worth dealing with before winter.

Do you repair EIFS as well as stucco?

Yes. The first thing we establish on site is which system you actually have, because the repair is completely different.

Where we work