Pro Handyman Blog

Stucco Repair After A Plumbing Leak

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I had to cut into a wall yesterday to repair a plumbing leak. One of the kids pulled on a hose bib and it snapped the copper pipe inside the wall. Last night I repaired the leak and today I start working on the stucco patch. Since there is a good sized hole in the wall I will need to fill it with something so that the stucco won't just fall into the wall. When stucco is first applied, a stucco wire is used to help it stay in place as it goes on with the consistancy of concrete. I know people who fill the void with rocks or whatever is laying around. I used expanding foam because it will insulate the pipe as well as provide a backing for the stucco repair.

Once the foam is firm in about 8 hours, it can be trimmed. After that, mix up a batch of stucco by adding water and fill the hole until it is even with the surrounding surface using a rubber float. Some stucco has a "sand" finish which is flat and looks like sand. The other finish style is very rough. You can try a couple techniques to match a rough finish.

The first method is the splatter method. With the patch flat simply flick small amounts of stucco on the flat patch. You want a somewhat random splatter. You can do this with a brush, float, or even a paint stick depending on the size of the patch. The other method is to get a fairly loose, almost soupy mixture of stucco and apply this to the patch. It won't be as rough as the splatter method but it may be what you are looking for.

After the patch dries, paint the patch or the entire wall. The paint is the key to a good patch. You can have a bad looking patch, but if the paint is a dead-on match, the patch will appear good.