Everyone knows that you can stucco a traditional house but what about a mobile or manufactured home?
Is it possible to stucco one of those? If so, what steps do I need to take to get the job done right and what issues should I be aware of?
Can You Stucco A Mobile Home?
Yes, you can stucco a mobile home using either a 3 coat or 1 coat (2 coat) stucco system after the trim has been removed and the windows are either removed and rehung or checked for potential leaking issues.
Removing The Trim...
Before you stucco a modular/mobile home, you will need to remove all of the trim in order to get an even plane on all of the surfaces where you are planning on stuccoing.
These areas include the corner pieces, any trim around the windows and any horizontal trim that may be hiding the seams in the siding.
Trim around the doors can stay if they are the appropriate type/style you are looking for, otherwise you can remove that too and replace it with either plaster stop or another piece of trim.
Lets Talk About The Windows...
Keeping The Windows: Most windows on mobile homes are installed prior to the siding being installed and this is the correct way to install them.
If you were to stucco over the existing siding and keep the windows in place, then you will probably be okay as far as leak protection if they weren't leaking prior.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you have no idea what the flashing looks like underneath and if their were any potential issues, you would not be able to address them prior to the new stucco being installed.
Removing The Windows: The ideal way to ensure that they will not have any issues in the future is to remove them ans reinstall them, with new flashing on top of the existing siding and then stucco the walls.
This will be a lot more work and time, which always equates to more money but I wanted to at least mention it so people are aware of "potential" items of concern that can come up in the process with mobile homes.
I wanted to note that this the two scenarios above are really based on liability issues that may come up if you are a contractor, seeing as how you do not know the state of the windows or the flashing, so if a leak did happen after the stucco was installed, then it would likely be due to an existing issue and not due to the installation of the stucco.
This would be hard to warranty the job properly from a contractor's standpoint.
Termination Points:
Every door on a mobile home (just like a framed home) needs termination points installed around the doors.
This is usually plaster stop or a wood trim that is covered on the side, which allows the stucco to be "keyed" into that groove.
Other termination points that you may have to address are ac/swamp cooler units that are mounted into the wall (except window mounted units), electrical and phone access panels, etc.
You will also need to remove and install new foundation vents that have the proper sized flanges for the new stucco.
What Type Of Siding Do You Have?
There are many different sidings that come on mobile homes and the main question that people have is whether they can stucco over that existing siding or if it has to be removed first.
Siding That Can Be Stuccoed Over: Typically the siding options that can have stucco directly applied over it are usually the "flatter" type of options like T-111, textured cement board, log cabin look, etc.
These will make for an even surface to apply the layers of paper, wire, base and finish coats without running into issues.
Just make sure that the existing siding is in good shape before covering it up, so no dry rot, large holes, etc.
Siding That Has To Be Removed: Usually if the siding on your mobile home is uneven, like lap siding, then it is recommended to remove it first before applying the stucco.
You can actually go over lap siding but you might run into issues with the paper tearing when fastening it to the lap siding and your nailing will be limited to the bottom edges of the siding.
Vinyl siding should also be removed first, even though some variations will have a flat and even plane.
