Stucco over concrete block

[Russell J. Hensel]

The stucco on a concrete block house has cracks that show the area of the underlying concrete block, (Looks like stairs) It is aesthetically displeasing and it is in an upscale neighborhood. It is the only house in the neighborhood with this problem. I was wondering what the typical cause was. The house is located in SW Florida

[relliott]

Need more info and a pic sure would help.
What is the stucco imbedded on?
Not directly on the CMU I would hope?

[Carl Brown]

Yes!

No moisture barrier and lath to hide the blocks!

[Blaine Wiley]

Well, it's actually pretty normal here in this neck of the woods because the stucco is always applied directly on the block. The block settles a bit and stairstep cracks show through the stucco. They are on about 10 out of 10 houses I inspect that are over a year old. I have them on my house.

The "normal" cure is to seal them when you paint the house, which with the weather here will be about every five years.

[Barry Adair]

I have a client that is considering having a block wall/fence built. I'll try and get over if this goes through and as work progress' to take some pix.

One step that has been successfully used by the stucco/EIFS contractor I recommend is using the fiberglass mesh as reinforcement. He has 8' walls that are over 10 years old that have no evidence of mortar joint telegraphing. We are on very expansive clay soils around here.

Adds a step in material application, costs a little more, but none of his walls have signs of this problem and he wont do a job without the mesh. I think he's a smart man that has incorporated the best of both worlds.