[1655graff]

Our house is a 1956 Ranch style with stucco and brick facing.

We are having a painter repaint it (1st time since early 1970s/previous owner). He has dug a trench a little down and all around the stucco walls so the stucco is not in contact with the soil.

I've (also) heard that the stucco should not be in contact with the soil. But how do we keep them this way?

I expect the rains to wash the dirt back down into our new trenches and/or for them to fill up over time with leaf detris, etc.

Should we apply some type of water barrier - chemical (butyl?) or material (metal?) - to the exposed (potentially) below the dirt stucco?

Should we fill the new trench with gravel?

Is there a right way to amend the soil so it drains water away from the house?

We do not have any moisture in the crawl space under the house, but we do have some cracks in the stucco coming up from the ground to the underhouse vents. I was told that these may be the result of wicking moisture from the ground.

I'd like to make sure we take care of any latent moisture/weather issues now while we have the trenches. Am I right? Is all this making sense?:huh:

 

[Tscarborough]

The dirt should be graded away from the house. There should be a 3-4" gap between the stucco and the dirt.

 

[1655graff]

The dirt should be graded away from the house. There should be a 3-4" gap between the stucco and the dirt.

So I think you are telling me that the fact that our dirt (most of which are in planted beds) is above the stucco line is a bad thing. And so we need to regrade/redo all the beds/dirt lines down to where the trenches are. Correct?