Stucco 2nd floor

[Andrew Cox]

On a 2 story house, concrete block 1st floor, wood frame 2nd floor, how wide should the drip edge be between floors? I was asked to look at a house with moisture problems - exterior walls all have moisture 15-20% in the drywall. I found the drip edge to be irregular - from 1/4" in some areas to almost 1" in others - not the best but would this in itself lead to increased moisture in walls?

[Carl A. Brown]

Lack of moisture barrier causes moisture problems with block walls.

Got any pictures?

[Michael J. Meeker]

Pictures Please.

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Remember that humid exterior conditions will increase the drywall's RH.
What are you using to measure the RH?
Does the tool have to be calculated for drywall?
Exterior walls all have excessive moisture reading as compared to what.
What is the relative humidity in the atmosphere?
When did it rain last.
What exposure did you measure East , West, North, South?
What time of day. Morning night.

[Pete Campbell]

"Stucco inspections are easy. They are all wrong."-- Mark Cramer, ITA Legend

A 'drip edge' is the incorrect product for this app.

Correct product in Fort Pierce, FL is a weep screed.

The RH and other factors have little to do with this situation. The installation is all wrong and is causing water to be trapped in the wall behind the stucco. Left for 3+ yrs, this will result in structural damage to the wood framing that sits on top of the block.

KB Homes is famous for this horrible design flaw and has repeated its installation extensively in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie and Stuart, FL. This problem is also very prevalent in the Orlando area where space is tight and going vertical packs more SF onto a small lot. Time is catching up to this type of house which got popular around here in the mid 2000's.

Good thing those new homes came with a 10 year structural warranty, but good luck trying to collect on tearing off all the deficient stucco and damaged framing and drywall. The A-Hs usually try to patch over on the outside, making it worse. Companies like KB should not be constructing houses that they don't understand how to design properly.

And worse, the AHJs don't even understand the Florida Building Code and ASTM Standards, so they let it pass. Incompetent idiots.