Seattle contractor warns against stucco

"My 2,200-square-foot house has a horrible texture coat all over it. I'm thinking about having the texture coat removed, and then painting the house. But I can't find anyone to remove the texture coat. One contractor said it couldn't be sandblasted because that would damage the underlying wood. Help!"
- Susan Riess

"There aren't many stucco houses here in the Northwest," says Jack Fecker, the owner of highly rated Jack's Ever Green Painting in Redmond, which is licensed to service Seattle.

With most homes in the Northwest built with cedar or HardiePlank siding, Fecker suggests Riess steer away from stucco unless her house has a roof overhang of at least 2 feet.

"We have severe dry rot problems in this area," Fecker says. "Without enough overhang, the wood will rot after water hits and the suns heats it up." The best option, Fecker says, is to paint the exterior of her house with a product specially formulated for the heavy moisture in the area.

Tom Wygant, owner of highly rated Wygant Painting in Kent, also licensed to service Seattle, agrees that a new paint job would be less costly than removing the texture coat.

If she has a Tex-Cote product on her home, Steven Chayer, president and CEO of highly rated Seattle Painting & Decorating Co., said he believes it will not come off without causing considerable damage to the underlying wood. He suggests removing the siding and replacing it with either paneling or clapboard siding.

Wygant adds that new siding and a quality paint job might even increase the value of her house.