Cement stucco system is durable. The reason for that lies in the fact that you are basically covering your house with a layer of rock. Cement stucco consists of sand, a small quantity of lime, cement, and water. It is simply a fine grained concrete that is attached to your house using a waterproof barrier paper, galvanized wire mesh, and metal flashings. Do not forget about such handy devices that channel water to the exterior of a wall as flashings.

Advantages:  Cement stucco can achieve impressive compressive strengths so that ladders, baseballs, and rocks can rarely dent it. If your contractor is talented and experienced enough, you can enjoy unlimited surface texture options. What is more, if you use time tested installation methods, you can create a weather tight barrier to wind driven rain, snow, and ice. Besides, uncoated cement stucco allows water vapor to freely pass through it.

Disadvantages: Cement stucco is a rigid material and when the wood framing beneath it shrinks or the house foundation moves, it is very likely to start cracking. In case you decided to use it on a new home, frame the house using wood sheathing and let the lumber dry for 45 - 60 days before proceeding with the stucco installation process. And though the quality of the material is controlled by the manufacturer people who mix the ingredients and install it on the wall control the destiny and durability of your stucco finish.

Synthetic stucco is a synthetic material that is virtually impervious to water and water vapor and comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. In general, there one and two coat systems are available. The outer surface synthetic stucco layer usually contains long lasting acrylic polymers that are solid colored and extremely flexible.

Advantages: Synthetic stucco systems are almost always applied over an unbroken layer of expanded polystyrene insulation board.

Disadvantages: It has been determined that synthetic stucco can actually act as a barrier. Actually, when water gets behind many EIFS systems it cannot get out. As a result, numerous houses suffer from serious structural wood rot.

However, contemporary synthetic stucco that is available at the market makes use of a special water management system. The water management system collects the water and diverts it back to the exterior of the home before it can cause rot damage. The system incorporates a special barrier paper, old fashioned metal flashings, cement board and a combination of a cement basecoat topped with a textured polymer stucco material.

As far as the painting options are concerned, if you decide to use cement stucco, use a masonry penetrating stain. If you select to use synthetic stucco, make sure that a waterproof barrier paper is used between the system and the wood structure. And don’t forget about flashings. Flashings will help to direct water from behind the EIFS back to the exterior of the wall.