Philadelphia and Delaware County
Stucco and exterior masonry in Philadelphia and Delaware County
Stucco work is repairing, patching or recoating the rendered surface on an exterior masonry wall.
What the work involves
Traditional stucco is a lime or cement render applied directly to masonry, and it is repaired by cutting back to sound material and building the coats up again. What matters is finding out whether the wall behind it is wet. Hollow-sounding stucco, bulges and rust-colored staining usually mean water has been getting behind the coat, and coating over that traps it. Synthetic stucco on a newer house is a different system with a different failure mode and is often not a masonry job at all.
Signs you need it
- Cracks, from hairlines to open splits
- A patch that sounds hollow when you tap it
- Stucco falling off in pieces, exposing the wall behind
- Staining, streaking or green growth on the surface
- Damp inside the wall on the other side
- Bulges, especially under a window or at a wall base
What stucco and exterior masonry costs
National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Fewer sources agree on this one. Read it as directional.
$8–$50 per square foot
- Stucco repair, published range
- $8–$50 per square foot
Two independent national sources agree on this range and no Philadelphia figure could be found. The spread is mostly about what is behind the stucco: patching a cracked traditional coat on solid masonry is at the bottom of it, and opening up a wall with trapped water in it is at the top.
Sources: This Old House, stucco repair cost; Thumbtack, stucco repair cost. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.
What a mason needs before a price is real
Any number given over the phone without seeing the wall is a guess. These are the things that change the price, and the questions Mortarook asks you so that the masons who see your project can quote it properly.
- Photographs of the cracked or failed area and of the whole wall
- Whether it is traditional stucco on masonry or synthetic on a newer house
- Whether it sounds hollow when tapped
- Whether there is damp inside
- Roughly how many square feet
Why this is a mason’s job
Recoating over trapped water is the most common failed stucco repair in this region, and it costs the whole job again two years later. The useful question is what is behind the coat, and that is a masonry question.
How Mortarook works
You describe the job once: the service, your ZIP code, a few words about what you are seeing, and photographs if you have them. Mortarook writes your description back in trade language so you can check it, then matches you with a maximum of three local masonry contractors whose registered services, service area and project size fit.
Every contractor listed as a Verified Pro has had their Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration checked against the Attorney General’s public registry, and has a certificate of insurance on file with us. Your phone number and street address are seen only by the pros who accept your project. We do not sell your information and there is never a fourth contractor.
Where stucco and exterior masonry comes up most
These are the towns and neighborhoods in our service area whose housing stock generates this work most often.
Other masonry work
Get up to three masons to look at your stucco and exterior masonry
Answer the questions once and up to three verified local masonry contractors see your project. Expect a call or an email within two business days.
Find My ContractorsFree for homeowners. No account and no password. Your phone number and address reach only the pros who accept your project, and never more than three. Contractors pay nothing to join and nothing to read your project.
Mortarook is free for homeowners. Masons pay no membership and nothing per project. When a contractor wins work through Mortarook they pay a success fee of 5% of the final project value, capped at $750, once. We never touch the money between you and your mason.