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Stucco installation • Decatur, GA

Commercial Stucco Installation in Decatur

Three-coat portland cement stucco suits Decatur's new mixed-use buildings, ground-floor retail and multifamily, where walls take abuse at the sidewalk. We install it over a proper weather barrier, lath, control joints and weep screed.

Three-coat cement stucco
Weather barrier & lath
Control joints & screed
New work & re-clads

Call (678) 806-7664 How we install

1999Georgia stucco work

Three-coatScratch, brown & finish

WrittenItemized quotes

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Decatur commercial stucco & EIFS. Property managers, boards, owners & builders.

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Built to drain

Hard coat is durable when it can drain

Cement stucco has a long record on commercial buildings because it is hard, resists impact and holds up at street level. It is also porous. Rain soaks into the face, and the wall depends on what is behind it, two layers of weather-resistive barrier or a drainage mat, flashing at every opening and a weep screed at the base, to send that water back out.

On Decatur projects, hard coat often goes where durability matters most: ground-floor retail walls along the sidewalk, podium levels below wood-framed apartments, site walls and stair towers. We install galvanized lath with proper laps and fastening, place control and expansion joints where the panel layout and the structure call for them, and apply scratch, brown and finish coats with the cure time each needs between them.

Rushing cure to make a schedule is how new stucco cracks in its first year, so we build curing into the sequence from the start and tell the general contractor where it sits on the critical path. For a full facade package with EIFS on upper floors, see new construction stucco and EIFS installation.

Exterior wall being prepared for weather barrier and stucco

1999installing Georgia stucco

What goes into the wall

Every layer of a commercial stucco wall

A finished three-coat wall is a little under an inch thick, but it is built from six separate parts. Skip one and the others cannot make up for it.

Weather-resistive barrier

Barrier lapped top over bottom, so water that gets past the stucco runs down and out instead of into the sheathing.

Lapped like shingles

Metal lath

Self-furred lath fastened into the framing and held off the barrier, so the scratch coat wraps around it and locks in.

Fastened to framing

Weep screed & casing beads

A weep screed at the base lets water drain out; casing beads finish the edges at windows and storefronts with room for sealant.

Clear of grade & paving

Control & expansion joints

Joints break long elevations into panels and isolate floor lines, so building movement shows up at the joint instead of as random cracking.

Laid out before lath

Flashing & kick-outs

Head flashing over openings, parapet and coping details and kick-outs at roof-to-wall lines go in with the barrier, where they can be lapped correctly.

Where most leaks start

Three coats, properly cured

Scratch, brown and finish coats applied in sequence, with base coats kept damp and given time to cure before the next goes on.

No rushing the cure

Which project?

New buildings, additions and re-clads

On new construction we coordinate with the general contractor, framer, window and storefront installers and roofer so barrier and flashing go in in the right order. On an addition, the new wall has to tie into the existing stucco without a visible seam, which means matching texture and planning a joint where old meets new.

A re-clad is the biggest job, and on an occupied building it is planned elevation by elevation: the failed cladding comes off, we inspect and replace damaged sheathing, then install a complete new system before moving on. If the existing stucco is sound and the goal is a new look, a recoat or color change may be all the building needs.

Typical commercial stucco projects
Project	What’s involved	Key detail
New constructionWhole building	Barrier, lath, three coats	Flashing sequenced with trades
AdditionNew wing or tenant space	Full system on new framing	Texture tied into existing
Re-cladFailed cladding off	Sheathing checked, new system	Phased around occupants
Partial elevationOne facade or tower	New system to a clean break	Joint at a corner or band

Our process

How a commercial stucco wall is built

Three-coat stucco takes time because each coat has to cure. Much of the schedule is curing, not labor, and that time is what makes the wall last.

Review & prepare

We review drawings and joint layout, check the sheathing, install the weather barrier from the bottom up and integrate it with window, storefront and roof flashing.

Joint layout confirmed
Barrier lapped correctly
Kick-outs installed

Lath & accessories

Weep screed, casing beads, corner aids and control and expansion joints go on with the lath, fastened into the framing and laid out to suit each elevation.

Screed set above grade
Joints laid out by panel
Lath fastened to framing

Three coats & cure

The scratch coat is scored and kept damp, the brown coat is floated flat and allowed to cure, then the finish coat sets the specified texture and color.

Base coats moist-cured
Cure time between coats
Finish to the spec

Bidding new construction or a re-clad?

Bring us in before the windows go in. Flashing, barrier and joint details are easiest to get right early.

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Fitting the streetscape

New stucco beside older Decatur

Downtown Decatur mixes early twentieth-century brick, mid-century commercial buildings and new mixed-use, and new stucco has to sit well among them.

Texture, color, reveal patterns and the way stucco meets brick or cast stone all affect how a new facade reads from the street. We prepare sample panels for owners, architects and any review body before full application. Whether a project needs design or historic review depends on the property and its district, so check with the City of Decatur early in design.

Sample panels

Finish texture and color approved on a sample before the wall goes up.

Stucco-to-masonry joints

Clean, sealed transitions where new stucco meets existing brick or stone.

Durable at grade

Hard coat chosen for walls that take carts, bikes and foot traffic.

Downtown Decatur
Oakhurst
East Decatur
Winnona Park
East Lake
Kirkwood
Avondale Estates
Candler Park
Lake Claire
Druid Hills

Questions & answers

Commercial stucco installation FAQ for Decatur

What Decatur developers, owners and general contractors ask about new hard coat stucco.

Do new stucco facades in Decatur go through design review?

Some do. Projects downtown or in a historic district, and many new buildings, may be reviewed for materials and appearance. Check with the City of Decatur, or DeKalb County for unincorporated sites, before finishes are locked in; we provide samples and product data for the submittal.

Can you apply stucco over an existing masonry wall on an older Decatur building?

Often, yes. Sound, clean masonry can take stucco directly with the right bonding preparation; painted, deteriorated or uneven masonry usually needs lath first. We evaluate the wall and recommend the build-up before pricing it.

How long does commercial stucco installation take?

Each coat needs cure time before the next, so a wall takes longer than its square footage suggests. We give the general contractor a sequence by elevation that includes cure and weather allowances.

Will new stucco crack?

Cement stucco can show fine shrinkage cracking, but proper control joints, correct lath installation and adequate curing keep cracking minor and cosmetic. Most serious cracking traces back to skipped joints or rushed cure.

Why does the weep screed matter?

The weep screed at the base of the wall lets water that reaches the weather barrier drain out. Without it, or if it is buried by paving or landscaping, water collects at the bottom of the wall and damages the sheathing.

Should we use hard coat stucco or EIFS?

Hard coat is tougher at grade and suits ground-floor retail and podiums. EIFS is lighter, adds insulation and makes trim easier. Many Decatur mixed-use buildings combine the two, and we can install both.

Price your Decatur stucco package

Send drawings and specifications. We will review the details and return a written, itemized proposal.

Call (678) 806-7664 Commercial quote