SuwaneeCommercial Stucco & EIFS
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Commercial Stucco Installation in Suwanee
Three-coat portland cement stucco is a durable choice for Suwanee mixed-use buildings, retail pads and amenity structures, as long as what goes on before the first coat is right. We install the weather barrier, lath, accessories and coats in the order that keeps the wall dry.
- Three-coat cement stucco
- Weather barrier & lath
- Control joints & screed
- New work & re-clads
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Suwanee commercial stucco & EIFS. Property managers, boards, owners & builders.
Hard coat stucco fits Suwanee’s town-center look
Walk through Suwanee Town Center or Old Town and much of the newer construction uses masonry-like finishes: smooth or sand-finish stucco on storefront bays, columns and upper floors. Three-coat hard coat stucco delivers that look and stands up well to impact at street level, which is why developers and architects keep specifying it for mixed-use and retail work in the area.
It also absorbs water. Stucco is a reservoir cladding, so a commercial stucco wall only stays dry if the layers behind it are built to let water out. That means two layers of weather-resistive barrier lapped shingle-style, properly fastened and lapped metal lath, weep screed at the base with clearance from grade and pavement, casing beads at openings and control joints laid out to the drawings.
We then apply the scratch, brown and finish coats with proper moist curing between them, which in a Georgia summer means watching temperature and wind as closely as the schedule. The finish coat is sampled first for texture and color, and sealant joints at windows and penetrations are installed as part of our scope, not left for another trade.
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.
Metal lath
Self-furred lath fastened into the framing and held off the barrier, so the scratch coat wraps around it and locks in.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 |
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.
Often paired with a stucco installation
New stucco depends on a sound substrate and a coordinated construction schedule, and multifamily re-clads add residents to plan around.
New Construction Stucco
Stucco and EIFS packages for general contractors and developers, scheduled and coordinated with the other trades.
Learn moreDensGlass Sheathing
Water-damaged sheathing behind stucco and EIFS replaced with glass-mat gypsum board and tied into the weather barrier.
Learn more
Apartments & Multifamily
Building-by-building envelope repair for apartment communities, with work planned around residents.
Learn moreCuring stucco in a Gwinnett summer
Weather drives the stucco schedule more than anything else, and Suwanee’s summers are hot, humid and stormy.
Fresh cement stucco needs moisture to cure and dislikes direct afternoon sun, hot wind and heavy rain before it sets. On Suwanee projects we plan coat applications around the forecast, start on shaded elevations when it is hot, mist-cure brown coats and protect fresh work when a storm line comes through. In winter, we watch for nights near freezing before we schedule a coat.
Heat & sun
We sequence elevations so fresh coats are not cooking in direct afternoon sun.
Storm protection
Fresh work is covered before summer storms hit, so the finish is not washed or pitted.
Control joints
Joints laid out to the drawings to manage shrinkage cracking on large wall panels.
- Suwanee
- Suwanee Town Center
- Old Town Suwanee
- Buford Highway
- Sugar Hill
- Buford
- Duluth
- Johns Creek
- Lawrenceville
- Cumming
Stucco installation questions in Suwanee
What Suwanee developers, contractors and owners ask before a stucco package.
Will the lath be inspected before we coat on a Suwanee project?
Do stucco colors need city approval in Suwanee?
Why three coats instead of one-coat stucco?
How long does a three-coat stucco application take?
How do you price stucco installation?
Price a stucco package in Suwanee
Send drawings or tell us about the project. We will review the wall assembly and send an itemized proposal.