Is the stucco on your Fort Lauderdale house cracking or popping off? J. Perry & Sons handles stucco repair, replacement and refinishing on houses across the city, from canal-front ranches with salt-damaged walls to inland homes that just got impact windows. Our residential stucco page lays out how we approach a house and the options we offer; this page applies it to the homes here. The citywide view of systems and textures is on stucco in Fort Lauderdale. Builders and managers with a building to bid should use commercial stucco in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale houses and the stucco trouble they bring
On the water. If your house backs onto a canal or the Intracoastal, every wall gets salt air. The steel in the tie beam and over the windows rusts and swells, and stucco pops off in strips along the top of the wall or above a window. A rust stain under a crack is the giveaway. We open that damage up to clean steel, treat it, rebuild it and re-stucco. Painting over it only hides it for a while.
Inland. Further west, houses from the 1960s through the 1980s crack more from settlement and from movement around sliding glass doors and wide openings. Cracks that step diagonally from a window corner are the classic pattern.
After new windows. Impact windows are going in all over the city. The installer pulls the old unit, sets the new one and leaves the stucco around the opening broken. Those returns (the stucco that wraps into the opening) need rebuilding and sealing quickly, before the next rain finds the gap.
Just had impact windows put in? Call (561) 556-7509 and we'll come close up the openings before the rain gets behind them.
Stucco repair or re-stucco: how we decide on your house
Patch or start over? We tap every wall to find out. Solid stucco rings; stucco that has let go of the block sounds dull. If roughly a third of an elevation or more is hollow or cracked, re-stuccoing that wall costs less per foot and paints evenly. Below that line, targeted stucco repair is the right call. Either way we find the cause first, such as a leaking window head, a missing sealant joint or a gutter dumping onto the wall, so you don't pay twice.
When the whole house is tired and patched, a full-house stucco job strips the failed coat, corrects the accessories and rebuilds every elevation.
Columns, arches and the front of the house
Columns. Porch and entry columns crack at the base, where sprinklers hit them, and at the cap, where water sits. We rebuild the damaged section, true the shape and refinish the full column so the repair does not show as a band. See stucco column repair.
Squaring arched openings. Putting in square impact units? Many owners want the old arch gone too. We fill the arch, form a square head, lath across the joint and refinish so the opening looks original.
A smooth front. Owners of older ranches often want the street-facing wall taken from sand or dash to a clean smooth finish that suits a modern door and windows. We float the wall straight first, then finish it in one continuous pass from corner to corner.
Waterfront and flood-zone details we build in
On canal and beach-side houses we use galvanized or PVC bead and coated fasteners, so the next round of salt does not start the cycle again. Many houses near the water sit in flood zones. We keep the weep screed (the drainage strip at the base) and the bottom edge of the stucco above grade so the wall can drain, instead of burying it in pavers or mulch.
Your HOA, the city and the permit
Does your neighborhood have an HOA? Then a change in texture or color, or squaring an arch on the front, usually needs its approval first. We prepare a texture sample, the paint code and a short description for you to submit with your application. Like-for-like patching usually needs no approval.
Permits go through the City of Fort Lauderdale's Development Services Department. Repair on the same footprint generally does not need one; re-stucco over new lath, stucco on an addition and any change to an opening do. If your house is in a designated historic district, exterior changes may need historic review as well. Broward County is in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so lath and fasteners need the right product approvals. J. Perry & Sons pulls all of its own permits and follows every city and county requirement. We do not do engineering; we build to the engineer's drawings and coordinate a licensed engineer when the work needs one.
What it costs on a Fort Lauderdale house
Stucco repair typically starts around $13–$21 per sq ft of patch, with the texture matched, confirmed after we see the project. Full re-stucco of a wall or the whole house typically starts around $14–$23 per sq ft. On waterfront homes, spalling repair found behind the stucco (chipped to the steel, rebar treated and rebuilt) is shown as its own line, typically starting around $22–$34 per sq ft. Columns, arch conversions and smooth fronts are priced per job after a site visit.
About these prices. These ranges are starting points based on typical South Florida projects. Your final price depends on the condition of the property, access, the materials or system specified and the full scope of work. We confirm every number after we review your project in person or from the drawings, and the price in your signed proposal is the one that applies.
Workmanship warranty on every job; materials carry the manufacturer's warranty. Terms are in your written contract.
Curious what your own walls will need? Send photos of the cracks or stains through our project form and we'll set up a free visit to price them.
A normal week with us on the house
You stay home. We set up on one or two walls at a time, keep your doors usable and cover windows, plants, pavers and any dock-side furniture near the work. The first days are noisy; cure days are quiet. Summer storms arrive most afternoons, so coats go on in the morning and fresh work is covered by midday. Cement stucco cures before primer, and painting follows once it has.
More for Fort Lauderdale homeowners
The full stucco in Fort Lauderdale page covers textures and systems across the city. Every trade we offer here is on our Fort Lauderdale renovation contractor page. For buildings with a bid package, see commercial stucco in Fort Lauderdale.
Nearby: residential stucco in Pompano Beach · residential stucco in Hollywood · residential stucco in Weston
ZIP codes we serve in Fort Lauderdale
33301, 33304, 33305, 33306, 33308, 33309, 33311, 33312, 33315, 33316.
Prefer to send photos or plans? Send us your project
Fort Lauderdale home stucco FAQ
There is a rust stain under the crack on my canal-side wall. What does that mean? Usually that the steel inside the tie beam or lintel is corroding. We open the wall to clean steel, treat or replace it, rebuild the concrete and then re-stucco, so the stain does not come back.
What will a stucco repair on my Fort Lauderdale home run? Patches typically start around $13–$21 per sq ft and a full re-stucco around $14–$23 per sq ft. Spalling repair is listed separately, starting around $22–$34 per sq ft, and columns, arches and smooth fronts are priced per job after a site visit. Final pricing is confirmed after we review your project.
Can you finish the openings my window installer left? Yes. We rebuild the stucco at the jambs, head and sill, seal the joint to the new frame and match the texture.
Do I need a permit to re-stucco my house in Fort Lauderdale? Repair on the same footprint usually does not. Re-stucco over new lath and changes to openings do, and we pull those permits through the city.
Can I stay in the house while the stucco is done? Yes. All the work is outside, one or two walls at a time, and your doors stay usable throughout.
Free estimate — call (561) 556-7509 or send us your project. Licensed Florida general contractor CGC1540699. Serving Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.