Reinforced Stucco Trim? Here Is How It Works

Stucco is one of those things where you either love it or you hate it. Sometimes you hate it because of how long it takes to dry and because it can crack after drying and fall away in chips and chunks. The good news is that there is a stucco process that reinforces the stucco plaster so that less of it can crack and fall away over time. Here is how it works. 

Extruded Metal Meets Stucco Trim

Extruded metal companies have found a way to create extruded metal trim and then cover and fill it with stucco plaster. The process can take place either in a factory, or more recently, onsite during stucco application to a home or building. It is layered on thin if you want the stucco to dry faster, or layered on thick if you live somewhere hot with little rain. 

Multiple pieces of extruded metal, each with their own purpose and means of supporting stucco plaster, are pushed through an extruder and molded into the expected configuration. Because it is metal, it is very strong and much more durable than stucco plaster by itself. Each of these pieces of metal is more secure when installed, too, because the metal is fastened to the underlying stud boards in the walls of your home. What is especially good news is the fact that if one small section of stucco-covered or stucco-filled extruded metal starts to crumble, flake, or chunk after cracking, that one piece can be removed from your home's wall/façade and replaced with a similar piece. A little extra plaster to hide the seams between pieces, and nobody can tell the difference. 

Multiple Benefits over Other Stucco Processes

Reinforced and extruded stucco trim has multiple benefits above and beyond most other stucco processes. It is easy to install, easy to apply, and even easier to repair. If you opt to have all of the wall pieces and trim pieces made in a factory rather than on your lawn, the stucco is already mostly cured, so that any surprise rain shower cannot make a mess of the plaster. A plaster splatter gun makes short work of hiding all of the seams of the installed pieces, thus creating a flawless-looking set of stucco walls. Within a few days to a week, you can spray-paint the dried plaster any color you choose, should you not decide to add pigment to the plaster during the creation and installation process. 

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