[Charlie&Rose]

Just returned home from South Carolina. Looking at homes, there is a community we looked at that has a big issue with stucco siding. Many homes have stucco that is bubbling.
We are also interested in Florida. Wondering if the same issues are there, with stucco? If anyone can tell me what would be the best siding to have in Florida, and why, it would be appreciated. Also, under the stucco, wood, cement? Thanks!

[Robino1]

Originally Posted by marcandme

Just returned home from South Carolina. Looking at homes, there is a community we looked at that has a big issue with stucco siding. Many homes have stucco that is bubbling.
We are also interested in Florida. Wondering if the same issues are there, with stucco? If anyone can tell me what would be the best siding to have in Florida, and why, it would be appreciated. Also, under the stucco, wood, cement? Thanks!

I think the builders in Florida have perfected the stucco application. Most stucco is over cement block construction. Ours is cement block with stucco over that. The house is over a year old and no bubbling. The rental we were in prior to having our house built was also CBS (concrete, block, stucco) and well over 10 years old. No bubbling issues on that one either.

A CBS house is probably the best build here. Stands up better to hurricanes and the humid hot weather we have here. The house also seems to stay cooler during the day. We only turn on the air in the evening. It shuts off at 5 am.

[Charlie&Rose]

Originally Posted by Robino1

I think the builders in Florida have perfected the stucco application. Most stucco is over cement block construction. Ours is cement block with stucco over that. The house is over a year old and no bubbling. The rental we were in prior to having our house built was also CBS (concrete, block, stucco) and well over 10 years old. No bubbling issues on that one either.

A CBS house is probably the best build here. Stands up better to hurricanes and the humid hot weather we have here. The house also seems to stay cooler during the day. We only turn on the air in the evening. It shuts off at 5 am.

Great news! Thanks for the info

[Gulf coast jon]

I think stucco over wood frame is a disaster. I lived on a lake (long visibility) and saw the two story (CBS first story, frame second story) get those blue tarps on the second story walls as the stucco over wood frame failed.

Originally Posted by Robino1

I think the builders in Florida have perfected the stucco application. Most stucco is over cement block construction. Ours is cement block with stucco over that. The house is over a year old and no bubbling. The rental we were in prior to having our house built was also CBS (concrete, block, stucco) and well over 10 years old. No bubbling issues on that one either.

A CBS house is probably the best build here. Stands up better to hurricanes and the humid hot weather we have here. The house also seems to stay cooler during the day. We only turn on the air in the evening. It shuts off at 5 am.

[Sunshine Rules]

Article well worth reading if you are considering any home with stucco over frame (and that includes 2nd floors of homes with concrete block first floors):

From an ASHI website/ Florida’s Stucco Disaster: What Every Home Inspector Should Know Part 1

Link: Florida

[kmarc]

Thanks for the info. I had a feeling that stucco over frame is not a good idea, I had heard things about stucco sliding off the frame. If you must live in a frame and siding home, my pick would be metal siding or the hardie-board siding over the frame. Avoid the PVC siding. A lot of houses in the north central part of Florida have it, but my experience is that it does not do well in the Florida heat. It chips, gets brittle and turns to chalk, IMO.

https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/hardie-board-siding/

[Dax13]

Originally Posted by kmarc

Thanks for the info. I had a feeling that stucco over frame is not a good idea, I had heard things about stucco sliding off the frame. If you must live in a frame and siding home, my pick would be metal siding or the hardie-board siding over the frame. Avoid the PVC siding. A lot of houses in the north central part of Florida have it, but my experience is that it does not do well in the Florida heat. It chips, gets brittle and turns to chalk, IMO.

https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/hardie-board-siding/

Kmarc: to see an example of stucco over wood failure, drive through Fore Ranch. (Ocala) The 2 story houses are CBS first floor and stucco over wood frame for the second floor. I call them "melted wedding cake houses".

Dax

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by Dax13

Kmarc: to see an example of stucco over wood failure, drive through Fore Ranch. (Ocala) The 2 story houses are CBS first floor and stucco over wood frame for the second floor. I call them "melted wedding cake houses".

Dax

Dax! Where ya been? Lol, guess where I heard about that stucco over frame failure? From you, using Fore Ranch as an example. I should check it out, I can just imagine that stucco sliding down to the first floor. There are a couple of 55+ communities that have a combination of types of homes: frame and siding, frame and stucco, concrete and stucco. That frame and stucco arrangement is deceptive, as it mimics the concrete with stucco, but I'm sure that's the idea. I wouldn't touch it, not after what I've heard. It makes sense, too.

Sigh. I wish I could find one of those older 2/2 block homes with the terrazzo floors up here, but none of the communities have them. They're in the regular neighborhoods and in Marion Oaks and the Shores, the last two being places I'm not interested in. The good news is, due to the tariffs on imported lumber, concrete homes should be cheaper to build.

[ByeByeLW]

Kmarc , I’m with you. Would love to find one of those old homes on a nice piece of land but it seems impossible.

I did find one, but they did a crappy update job on it. I’d prefer the original tile, etc as that is so much better than today’s tile installations.

I wouldn’t care if the bathroom was pink purple and green lol .

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by ByeByeLW

Kmarc , I’m with you. Would love to find one of those old homes on a nice piece of land but it seems impossible.

I did find one, but they did a crappy update job on it. I’d prefer the original tile, etc as that is so much better than today’s tile installations.

I wouldn’t care if the bathroom was pink purple and green lol .

Bye, they're all over the place from Ft. Myers up to, well, Ocala, seems like they built all the way up to Marion Oaks and then stopped. The only 55+ community I know of that has them is Sun City Center and I think there might be a couple of small communities in the New Port Richey area. Unfortunately they don't come with much land in those places. You can find some nice ones up in the Northeast sector of Ocala, but they're in the regular neighborhoods. You can get some with land, too. Beverly Hills is mostly those older concrete block houses. But as I said in another thread, those neighborhoods got hit by the housing bubble investor ugly stick. They used to be pleasant, affordable neighborhoods before that.

Those are great little livable homes. Excellent bones. Easy to maintain, easy to clean. Comfortable and just the right size for retirement. And the terrazzo floors are wonderful. Not to mention, they really stand up to storms. I think they can take up to a Cat 3 in some cases. As long as you're not in an evacuation or flood zone, just hunker down.

Don't get me started on these places with "walls" that don't go all the way to the ceiling. They call them "plant shelves". What a joke. "We were too cheap to build the walls all the way up" is more like it. Same with the particle board kitchen cabinets that don't go all the way up. Good luck getting up there to dust in your golden years, especially if you have balance problems. It's an invitation to break a hip. Or "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!"

You are so right about the more recent bathroom tile. And how about those crappy plastic tub and shower enclosures? Or those sliding glass shower doors that etch at the drop of a hat? Or the low toilets? Seriously, they put these in a lot of the cheap frame and siding houses they built for retirees with more modest incomes. Really? They shouldn't have even bothered. Just dig a hole in the floor and let people squat. Tell them it's a therapy bathroom for people who suffer from constipation. You'll save a bundle on Ex-Lax!

Lol, I'm in a mood tonight. We should do a thread where people can post their beefs about Florida housing quirks.